


Uncertainty

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-10-07 23:28:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 60,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10372233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: Jo's always been a little bit of a control freak, but now he's struggling to keep it all together around his new handsome teammate.





	1. Time

"Have you seen my watch?" Jo checked under the sofa cushions, but he couldn't think why he'd have taken it off there.

"What?" Will looked up from his books, random components scattered over the table, wielding a screwdriver as though it was a surgeon's knife.

"My watch, the one from the sponsors, have you seen it?"

"Erm…" Will paused for such a time that Jo was starting to think that his software had crashed. "Didn't you leave it in the bathroom?"

Jo dashed in that direction, leaving Will tinkering with his project.

His eyes darted around the small room, cluttered with his sister's toiletries, the smell of a flowery shower gel lingering in the air. He picked up the damp towels from the floor, rolling his eyes as he hung them up, but then something glinted in the light.

His watch.

Hiding behind the assorted makeup on a little shelf by the mirror.

_Thank fuck, the sponsors would disown me if I lost it._

"Found it, thanks bro."

His heart rate slowed and he felt calmer, well, as calm as he was going to with flying this evening.

No matter how often he had to fly for work, he would never become comfortable with it. If it wasn't for all the drug testing he'd consider sedatives, but that was more hassle than it was worth, and flying drunk sounded like a bad idea.

Securing the watch around his wrist he went back to packing, making sure that everything was folded neatly and in its place. Jo heard the odd joke from Will about how he was a neat freak, but he didn't respond.

"Are you freaking out about testing?"

"No." Jo frowned, his brow furrowed as Will tidied up his things. "The car's looking good this year, and Nico's a strong teammate."

"Nico's cute."

"I hadn't noticed." Jo smiled, zipping up his suitcase before heading to the bedroom to grab his racing gear.

Will laughed, shaking his head, and he was still laughing when Jo returned carrying his helmet, his jacket on and ready to go.

"Yeah, right."

"I've got bigger things to focus on this year, like keeping my drive." Jo patted his pockets to check that he had his car keys, and his passport. "You ready to go? I'll drop you at the train station."

"Yeah, thanks bro."

It didn't take long for Jo to be pulling up outside the train station, hovering on double yellows. Will dragged a bag full of textbooks out of the backseat as he glanced around for any sign of traffic wardens.

"Have fun with Nico." Will grinned as he waved goodbye, and Jo shook his head, he wasn't going to hear the end of this for a while.

"Have fun with your exams."

"Touché."

Jo watched Will stroll up to the train station in his rear-view mirror, and he wondered how he was going to manage eight days trying to act cool around Nico.

***

"Sorry I'm late." Jo had been sure that he had left enough time to get from the hotel to the racetrack with time to spare, but here he was, stumbling through the door six minutes late. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and he had to fight to keep the blush off his cheeks.

The only seat left was next to Nico, and Jo tried to look cool as he wandered round the table, giving Nico a little smile before sitting down. It was a standard engineering briefing, and Jo struggled to focus as his eyes developed a mind of their own, glancing at Nico every time that he moved in his seat.

"Any questions?"

Jo looked down at his watch to see that half an hour had passed, and he had no memory of what was said, although he did have a very detailed mental image of the bulge in Nico's jeans.

He looked to Nico to see him shaking his head, and Jo did the same, hoping that he hadn't missed anything important while he was daydreaming. The cool air hit him as he strolled towards the garage, his fingers tapping the side of his leg as he glanced at Nico who was walking in stride with him.

"Looking forward to driving?"

Jo ran hundreds of different answers through his head, hoping that something witty, maybe even a little flirty would jump out at him. But nothing did.

He ended up staring at Nico with his mouth hanging open, hoping that one of the mechanics would need him so that he could escape the silence that had frozen him.

"Uh, yeah."

_Smooth. Really fucking smooth._

"Maybe we could go over the data tonight?" Nico's eyes were bright, his smile effortless, and Jo was sure that he looked like he'd just swallowed a penny.

"Uh."

_Did I just grunt at him? I grunted at Nico Hülkenberg… Oh god he'll think I'm a creep._

A flicker of a smile crossed Nico's face, and Jo wished that the ground would open up and swallow him.

"Have fun in the car."

"Thanks."

_At least I didn't grunt at him again._

Jo blinked and Nico was gone, leaving him to wonder if he'd imagined the whole conversation. Although that might be a relief given the way he behaved.

"Jo, are you ready to go?"

The engineers were waiting for him to get in the car, and he hurried to get changed into his race suit, wondering where the time had gone.

_This is what you get when you spend more time focusing on your ridiculously handsome teammate than you do on the car they're paying you to drive._

Jo's talk with Nico left him flustered, but once he finally stepped into the car and the visor was down he felt like time was flying for him.

One installation lap later he was back in the garage, the chequered flag flying to signal the end of the morning session.

Lunch disappeared before he even had a chance to finish his cup of tea, and he was back in the car. This time he was actually getting the laps in, gathering the data and getting a feel for the car.

It was blissful.

By the time the chequered flag was flying he felt like he'd spent days in the car, and his mind was calm.

Until he saw Nico standing at the back of the garage waiting for him.

_You just have to go over the data with him, you can do it without embarrassing yourself any further_.

Nico waved, and Jo stumbled, tripping over his own feet as he made his way over.

_Smooth._

*

Going over the data had been familiar territory. He'd focused on the sheets of paper so that he didn't have to look at Nico's mesmerising sky blue eyes.

He'd even managed to say goodbye without tripping over his words, or worse still, grunting at him.

It was a win of sorts. Now all he had to do was make sure that he didn't do anything silly around him.

That was going to be harder than it sounded.

Jo picked up his phone from the bedside table, Will's number already dialling by the time he brought the phone to his ear. Just when he thought that it was going to go to voicemail, Will answered.

"Hey." Will sounded sleepy, but rushing to get uni projects done before he started racing for the year was definitely taking its toll on him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…" Jo sat up, and he fumbled for the light switch, the darkness had descended fast.

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm having a full on bisexual meltdown." Jo let out a groan as the sound of Will cackling down the phone blared in his ear. "Why is Nico so gorgeous?"

Jo waited for the laughter to subside, getting comfy under the blanket, the silence broken by a snort.

"He spoke to me, and I grunted in response. I grunted at him."

Will shrieked with laughter, and Jo let out a deep breath.

"Sorry, bro." Will continued to splutter with laughter. "You do this every time you meet someone cute."

"Not every time." Jo paused, and there was more laughter.

"Remember when you met Carmen? Or the months of major bisexual panic when you were Marcus' teammate?"

Jo blushed, shaking his head at the hours he'd spent on the phone pouring his heart out to Will about his crushes. "Point taken."

"It's cool, I was expecting this call." Will yawned, and Jo smiled, resisting the urge to yawn in sympathy.

"Thanks for not saying 'I told you so'."

"Next time, can you schedule your bisexual crisis for some time earlier than two in the morning?"

Jo glanced down at his watch. 3:07.

"Fuck, sorry, bro."

"You should get some sleep so that you don't look tired in front of Nico."

Jo laughed, still looking at his watch and wondering how it got so late without him noticing. "Thanks. Night."

"Night."

The line went silent, and Jo made himself comfy in bed. Taking off his watch, he thought he saw the second hand flicker backwards, and he ended up staring at it as the little second hand flitted its way around.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Five.

Strange.


	2. Chronostasis

"Is it fixed?" Jo sipped at his tea, watching Will's every move as he replaced the cover on his watch.

"It was never broken." Will handed it back to Jo, amusement written all over his face.

"I swear I saw the second hand go backwards."

"It's chronostasis." Will was smiling now, and Jo braced himself for a lot of science words that he didn't understand.

"What?" Jo raised his eyebrows, and Will sat down next to him, grinning with delight at the prospect of letting his inner geek out.

"It's an optical illusion, or rather a disconnect between what you actually see and what your brain expects to see. Your eyes are constantly moving, rapidly shifting to focus on different things." Will stared at him, and Jo nodded to say that he was still listening. "When your eye tries to settle on a moving second hand - when the second hand appears to go backwards – that means that your eye has overshot the mark for a moment. Your brain expects to see that the second hand has moved on to the next number, but it reality it's still on the original number for a few more milliseconds, by which time your brain has caught up with your eyes, making you _think_ that you saw the second hand go backwards."

"Oh." Jo felt silly, especially since Will had spent half an hour trying to fix what wasn't even broken in the first place. He kept looking away from the watch only to glance back, and the second hand danced erratically as he started to look like he had a nervous twitch.

"Unfortunately there's nothing I can do to fix glitches in the human brain." Will chuckled, and Jo got a glimpse of him as a mad scientist, standing over a cadaver and covered in blood.

"I'm not sure that the jet lag will help." Jo laughed, and there was a nervous edge to it, but that was him thinking about flying. Australia was always the hardest one, even with a break half way it still felt like an eternity travelling.

"Just think of Nico." Will nudged Jo, making his tea splosh out, and Will held his hands up in apology.

Jo rolled his eyes, smiling as he made a show of putting his cup down and going to find a cloth. It wasn't too much of a mess, and at least he'd managed to take his mind off flying for a while.

***

Landing in Australia, he didn't have time to feel jet lagged. Someone from Renault Australia picked him up from the airport, and whisked him off to the first media commitment of the week.

A game of true or false with Nico.

It seemed innocent enough, but Jo had to focus not to end up laughing. Whoever had written the questions clearly had sex on the brain.

Nico seemed easy enough to get along with, and it definitely made it all a little more fun, which was a bonus. By the end of it all Jo had managed to relax, and he was sure that he could make it through the weekend without embarrassing himself in front of Nico.

Ten minutes later he was sitting in a taxi, Nico's leg rubbing against his as he tried not to roll his eyes at Nico's topic of conversation – the new, pink, Force India.

Jo could feel his stomach twist into knots, and he knew that a fragile masculinity was one step away from hearing the words 'no homo'.

Although seeing the way that Nico dressed away from the track, Jo couldn't believe that he hadn't heard those words yet.

"What do you think of the Force India?" Nico's smile said it all, he was expecting Jo to join in with his joking, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"At least it won't be hard to miss in the wing mirrors."

"But can you imagine having to wear a pink race suit?" Nico nudged him, his bony elbow poking Jo in the ribs as he tried to keep smiling but he was sure that he looked confused.

"If the sponsors wanted it, I'd paint my nails to match." Jo stared at Nico, the sparks flying through the air, and just when he thought that Nico was going to punch him, he laughed.

"Good one." Nico kept chuckling all the way to the hotel, shaking his head every time that he looked at Jo.

It wasn't the reaction that he expected, but him and Nico still seemed to be on good terms, so that was a win of sorts.

_He thinks you're funny? That's not a bad thing? Just a pity he's clearly straight._

***

That night Jo settled into his hotel room, and he was dialling Will's number without even thinking about it.

"How's the watch?"

"Still working fine." Jo laughed, glancing at his watch before looking away, trying to catch it out, but the second hand just kept on ticking.

"How's Nico?" Will said, in such a way that Jo felt his cheeks burning.

"Offended by the colour pink."

"Straight guys…"

Jo could hear Will rolling his eyes, and Jo laughed, he'd thought the very same thing.

"They're everywhere." Jo smiled, taking off his watch as he lay out on the bed. "At least it saves me the hassle of having a crush on him."

"True, I remember how you were with Marcus."

Jo groaned, that had been a long year, although Marcus had never figured it out, which was a relief.

"I have a circuit board that's not going to solder itself." There was the sound of a voice in the background, but Jo couldn't hear what they were saying. "Anyway, good luck for the weekend."

"Thanks bro."

***

Being back behind the wheel of the car made him feel at ease, and he savoured every lap that he got.

The car was still a little twitchy, but they'd have time to tweak that before quali. He was feeling good, already picturing Q2. Then as he came round the last corner the car slid, and he fought to get it under control.

But nothing happened.

He twisted the steering wheel again, hoping that it would do something this time.

And then he was spinning out of control, heading towards the barrier with no hope of stopping in time.

He flinched as the crunch of metal and carbon fibre juddered through his body, the smell of warm oil worrying, and he leapt out of the car, wondering how it could have all gone so wrong, so quickly.

***

Jo woke up to see the news, and he rushed down to the track in a bid to find Pascal.

Lurking in the Sauber motorhome, he wasn't exactly inconspicuous, his bright yellow shirt marking him out as an intruder.

Someone tapped on his shoulder, and he spun round to see Monisha standing there with an amused look on her face. Jo was sure that she thought he and Marcus were more than friends, but she never said a word about it to anyone, and for that he was grateful.

"Marcus isn't here, he's giving an interview to Danish media."

Jo smiled, Marcus could barely hold a conversation in Danish, so that would be fun for him at this time in the morning.

"I was actually looking for Pascal, I just wanted to…" There was no easy way to finish the sentence, and Monisha nodded to a room at the back of the motorhome.

"Thank you." Monisha smiled before rushing back to work, and Jo took a breath before heading over to where Pascal was.

He knocked on the door, and he wasn't sure what to expect, but he'd never seen Pascal looking so down.

Jo slid into the little room, closing the door behind him as he sat down next to Pascal. He had no idea what to say, 'I'm sorry' didn't cut it, so he sat next to him, his arm draped over his shoulder, comforting him without words.

"Race of Champions is cursed." Pascal snorted in laughter, and Jo held Pascal a little tighter.

"That it is."

There was more silence, and Jo was aware of the time ticking on, creeping closer to FP3.

"This is only one race, you've got a whole season to show everyone what you can do, and I know you're going to give me hell on track."

Pascal laughed, his normal warm chuckle, and Jo felt like the world was a little brighter.

"Thank you, you're the only one who's come to check up on me."

"What are friends for?" Jo smiled, pulling Pascal into a proper hug as his eyes darted to his watch. "I've got to go, but text me if you want to hang out this evening."

"Sure."

Jo slipped out through the side door of the motorhome, sparing him the strange looks from the Sauber personnel, and he made it back to the Renault garage with minutes to spare.

Today was going to be a good day, he could feel it.

He qualified last, but at least he'd managed to do one thing right.

***

The race was going well, he'd avoided getting caught up in any first lap drama, but he could feel that there was something wrong with the brakes.

Turn eleven only needed a little tap of the pedal, but Jo was sure that they weren't doing anything. Then by the last corner, he could feel them sticking on, ruining any chance he had of a good lap time.

He tried everything the engineers suggested, but nothing worked. The brakes kept sticking, and he kept getting further behind.

In the end there was no choice but to retire the car. It was a frustrating end to a frustrating weekend.

*

He tried to keep his head up, but by the time that he was back at the hotel, he felt the emotion of the weekend catching up with him.

The data was sitting next to him on the bed, he'd already been through it with the engineers; what little there was to go through anyway.

Staring at the sheet, the numbers confirmed what everyone had seen. It had been an awful weekend for them, but then he noticed a pattern.

There was an identical amount of time between him applying the brakes for turn eleven, and them locking on in the last corner. Every lap was the same.

It was like there was a delay in the brakes at that point, and that point only.

But why?


	3. Rain

Jo glanced at his phone for what felt like the hundredth time. He'd sent Pascal a message, but there'd been no response, and he was starting to wonder if he should just call him. But would he want to talk about it? Jo knew if he was in Pascal's position he would put a brave face on it all, no matter what he was feeling underneath. But Pascal was a friend, and he had to at least check and see if he was okay.

He had nothing better to do with his evening. Sitting around his hotel room, wondering if he would finally have a better weekend was only making him agitated. Jo headed down to the gym, clearing his mind and hoping that it would tire him out enough to sleep. The jet lag was starting to catch up with him.

Stepping out of the shower, the cool air conditioning sent a shiver down his spine, and he lay out naked on the bed, enjoying the cold as he dried.

His phone buzzed, and he rolled over to see that Pascal had sent him a picture.

Pascal was topless and holding a weight in each hand, his muscles bulging and his face was pulled into a grimace of determination.

Underneath was the caption: I'm training hard so that I'm ready to come and beat you on track!

Jo let out a groan at the sight of Pascal, and he was sure that Pascal would never send him a selfie again if he had heard that noise. At least Pascal was doing well, he missed having him around.

He was able to sleep easier knowing that Pascal was doing okay, and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep, still sprawled out naked on the bed.

***

Strolling into the paddock, the rain pelting down on him, Jo had his fingers crossed for a better weekend.

He smiled when he saw Nico, and it grew when Nico walked over to him.

"Still raining?"

Jo snorted in laughter as Nico leant against the wall, looking effortlessly handsome as he ran his hand through his hair. Jo resisted the urge to shake his wet coat at Nico, instead he slid out of it in a way that he hoped showed off his muscles, making sure that his shirt rode up a little so that Nico could see a little flash of skin.

He was blushing too much to look up and see if Nico was actually watching him, but the rush of it made him feel invincible, testing out his flirting skills from a safe distance.

They chatted away about the weather for a little while, Nico joking that it was like British weather, and Jo felt relaxed. Nico was easy to be around, they had settled into a nice pattern of small talk with a little bit of what felt like flirting to Jo.

"How's Pascal?" The smile had gone from Nico's face, and Jo nodded, not sure if he should show Nico the picture that Pascal sent him. It would only raise questions that Jo wasn't sure he wanted to answer yet.

"Training hard."

"That's good." Nico smiled, and Jo found himself gazing into his eyes, lingering a little too long.

_You should go before you end up drooling over him._

"I need to go and get ready." Jo blushed as he shuffled off towards his room at the back of the garage, resisting the urge to look back and see if Nico was watching him.

The 'flirting' could wait for another time. Race mode had been activated.

But the weather had other ideas.

The rain itself wasn't too bad, and the wet tyres they had available were coping with it, but the weather had caused other problems. The local airport had been closed and with no medical helicopter, there was no running.

Staring out of the garage, the rain looked like it was falling upwards, another surreal visual to add to the strangeness of the day.

In the end the whole day was a wash out, and he scurried along to the Sauber garage, but Marcus had already headed back to his hotel.

Jo thought about dropping by, but he hadn't stopped yawning all afternoon, and an early night did sound appealing.

*

He was dozing with the tv murmuring in the background, not quite asleep but not quite awake, when his phone buzzed, and he considered ignoring it. At this time of night it was probably family wishing him luck for tomorrow. But in the end curiosity got the better of him, and he rolled over to see that it was Marcus messaging him.

Jo bolted out of bed, stumbling as he tried to hop into his jeans, and he took off into the rainy night without a jacket, rushing to get a taxi to Marcus' hotel.

All the message had said was: Want to hang out?

It hadn't taken Jo long to get there, and he passed Monisha on the way up, further cementing her suspicions that Marcus and he were dating.

He tapped on the door, he didn't want to wake Marcus if he'd fallen asleep already. It would take someone banging for him to wake up, and there were times when even that wasn't enough.

Marcus smiled as he opened the door, his eyes scrunched almost completely shut and Jo rushed in for a hug, letting the door close itself behind them.

Jo knew the loneliness that came with the job a little too well, even with friends that were also racers, sponsors events and media commitments meant that they didn't have a lot of time to relax and socialise.

They watched dumb movies, chatting away like teenagers, and it was late when Jo realised that Marcus had fallen asleep on his arm. It seemed cruel to wake him, and Jo cuddled in, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

***

Jo woke up to the sound of the shower running, and he waited for Marcus to finish before heading back to his hotel. He even said good morning to Monisha on the way out.

At least he'd got a good night's sleep, and helped Marcus do the same, they were going to need every advantage if they were going to qualify well with so little running.

FP3 went well, the car felt good, and he was ready to show the world what he could do.

*

He was on a flying lap when he saw the thing that every driver hated.

Yellow flags.

He slowed, his lap ruined, and he knew that it was quali over.

Cruising round the corner he saw the remains of a Sauber, and his heart rate spiked, only slowing once he saw that it wasn't Marcus.

But it didn't change the fact that he was going to be starting at the back of the grid tomorrow.

When he got back to the garage there were a lot of sad looking faces, but Jo assumed it was because they were knocked out in Q1.

He got out of the car and started to head to the back of the garage when Nick stopped him.

"The stewards want to see you."

"What for?"

"Not slowing under yellow flags."

Jo wanted to groan, but it wouldn't achieve anything, so he shook his head, wondering if the day could get any worse.

It could.

A five place grid drop, and three penalty points. He was racking up a nice collection of them.

By the time he got back to his hotel that evening, exhaustion had set in and he couldn't even find the energy to go to the gym. He was denied his usual respite when he needed to clear his head.

***

The next morning Jo wandered into the garage to the sound of Nico laughing, clearly happy with his qualifying position.

Jo managed a flicker of a smile, but he didn't feel like talking, and he headed towards his little room at the back of the garage. He was hoping for a little bit of peace and quiet before the race, but someone was knocking on his door, and before he could turn round to answer it, they were wandering in.

Nico was standing there with a wry smile on his face, his eyes locked on Jo's scar, and he rushed to put his nomex on.

"I'm sorry about your penalty."

Jo shrugged, he knew that there was no point getting angry about it. He didn't even have the right to appeal it, so it wouldn't achieve anything.

"These things happen."

"It's the fun of racing for midfield teams, we always get the penalties." Nico laughed, but Jo knew it was the truth. There was no way one of the world champions would have got a penalty like this.

"Yep."

"Do you want a hug?" Nico held his arms out, and Jo couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "No homo?"

Jo groaned internally. Not just because it meant that Will had won the bet as to when Nico would utter those words, but because it was another piece of evidence pointing towards the fact that Nico was probably straight.

"If there isn't a little bit of homo then I don't want it." Jo forced himself to smile, panic coursing through his veins. It was the sort of joke that he could make with his friends, but with Nico? He had no idea how he was going to react to that.

Nico laughed, and Jo felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. His long arms fitted nicely around him, and the warmth of his breath against his neck sent his mind into overdrive.

_It's just a hug, don't make things weird._

"Thanks, mate."

Jo patted Nico on the back, and Nico did the same. Nico slipped out as quickly as he'd appeared, and Jo was glad for a few minutes to compose himself before he had to go out into the garage.

Nico winked at him before he got into the car, and Jo was glad that his helmet covered his cheeks.

*

The race was going well, until the safety car appeared, and for the second time Jo found himself hoping that it wasn't Marcus' car that was smashed up on the start-finish straight.

Towards the end of the race, he glanced up at the board, and he saw something strange.

7 PAL  
8 WEH

Glancing in his wing mirrors he could have sworn that he saw the number ninety-four on the front of a Sauber, but when he looked back, it was gone.

_It's either a glitch, or a lot of people ahead of me have crashed out and I'm magically in seventh place._

It was the first option, as he came round again there was no sign of his name in the top ten, and no more sightings of Pascal's phantom Sauber.

Nico also finished outside of the points, and he couldn't find Nico to give him a hug for his not one, but two penalties. Both for speeding under the safety car.

*

Jo sat waiting for his flight as the rain battered down against the large airport windows. The fluorescent lights made his skin look sallow, and his eyes struggled to focus on the book that he was reading.

He looked out as a flash of lightning struck, watching the rain snake its way up the glass.

It was a strange end to a strange weekend.


	4. Bright

Jo squinted as he got off the plane in Bahrain, patting his pockets as he tried to find his sunglasses, but they were probably in his case.

He stumbled off the final step, catching his balance at the last second as he headed towards the airport. The lights inside the building seemed overkill with the bright desert light streaming in the large glass windows. Even though they were tinted to cut out the worst of the glare, it was still dazzlingly bright.

His passport photo made him grimace every time that he saw it, and he smiled at the passport control guy as he waved him through, glad that he had a few days to acclimatise to the searing Bahraini heat before the race.

The air conditioning in the taxi was broken, and he felt the sweat dripping down his back, his clothes clinging to him as he fought with the winder to roll down the window, but the heat outside was every bit as stifling.

He let out a little gasp of relief when he stepped into the hotel, the air conditioning sending a chill down his spine as his damp clothes stuck to his skin. A cold shower was going to be the first thing he treated himself to.

His hotel room looked like every other hotel room that he'd ever stayed in, but he wouldn't be spending long here. Between racing and media duties this was just a place to get washed and sleep.

Jo cranked the air conditioning up to full before pulling the curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness as his eyes relaxed.

He left his sweaty clothes in a trail on the floor, the air conditioning sending a chill down his spine. Turning the shower on, he made sure the dial was set as cold as possible. Stepping into the shower, he groaned as the cool water beaded down over his body, its icy drops were like heaven to him.

Goose bumps appeared over his body, and he shivered as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping himself up in a towel before switching the light off.

The cool darkness was what he needed, respite from the scorching desert, and he slept sprawled out naked on the bed.

He woke from his dream with a jolt, trying to hold on to it as it faded from his consciousness, leaving him to wonder why his heart was pounding.

Taking a deep breath he stumbled to his feet, glancing at his phone to see that he had a message.

It was a selfie from Nico, him training topless in the gym, and Jo bit his lip as he dragged his eyes over it, wondering what the right response would be.

He wanted something flirty, but the kind of flirting that could also pass as a joke between teammates.

Another message came through while Jo was staring at his phone screen. A picture of Nico flexing his bicep, grinning manically at the camera. Underneath was the caption:

                Do you like a man with muscles? ;)

Jo grinned, unable to think of a witty response. He couldn't tell if Nico was joking or not, but a bit of him got a rush from the thought of flirting with him.

                Yeah, you'll be able to put them to good use this weekend ;)

Jo laughed, wondering what he was doing flirting with his teammate. But it was all just for fun.

He was dozing off again when another message came through.

                I will ;)

Jo smiled as he drifted off to sleep, unaware of his phone screen flickering in the darkness.

***

The bright yellow of their race suits was somehow more garish under the flood lights that lit the track, making Jo reach for his sunglasses even though it was dark out. His sponsors would love it.

He didn't have long before he had to get into the car for qualifying, and he was glad that his helmet visor was tinted, making the world look right again.

Most of his time this weekend had been spent trying to figure out how to flirt with Nico without seeming too interested. But it was a nice way of keeping his mind off the little issues with the car, and that was a blessing.

Trundling back to the garage after Q2, he got the best news that he could ever hope to hear.

He was through to the final round of qualifying, for the first time in his F1 career.

Finally.

Nico was smiling at him from the other side of the garage, they had both made their team proud today.

Now Jo had to focus on beating him, showing the world that he was every bit as good as the great Nico Hülkenberg.

He tried his hardest, but in the end, it wasn't to be.

Smiling at Nico in the media pen, Jo wanted to go over and congratulate him, but he didn't want everyone to see him blushing and flustered around Nico.

He gave Nico a little wave, and in return Nico smiled at him, filling the quota of awkward flirting for the day.

***

The race had gone well, well, as good as could be expected for them. Nico had managed to hang on to a few points, while Jo had to settle for thirteenth, or last depending on how he looked at it.

But it didn't change the fact that Renault had their first points of the year, and the team were overjoyed by it, celebrating as though they'd got a win.

Jo had ended up sitting in Nico's room at the back of the garage, waiting for him to get changed so that they could head back to the hotel.

He tried to avert his eyes while Nico threw on his jeans and a t-shirt, but if Nico wasn't going to be embarrassed about it then neither was he.

Although there was a fine line between being comfortable with it and drooling over Nico.

"Congratulations on your points."

Nico smiled, his grin that bordered on smug. "Want to go celebrate?"

"In a dry country?"

"Yeah, that's not much fun." Nico paused, his hand resting on his chin as Jo watched him think. "I've got an idea."

"Okay."

"But we'll need to go back to the hotel first."

Jo looked down at his team shirt and nodded, there was no way that they wanted to go anywhere dressed like that. Not if they wanted to blend in.

"Let's go."

*

"Meet back here in ten minutes?" Nico said, as they stood awkwardly outside his hotel room.

"Sure."

"And make sure you wear something nice." Nico chuckled, winking at Jo as he put the keycard into the slot, the green light flashing as the lock whirred open.

"Nice?" Jo grimaced when he thought about the clothes he had with him, most of it was team gear, and that didn't leave a lot of space for anything else.

"Yeah, like something you'd wear on a date." Nico grinned, patting Jo on the shoulder as he winked at him.

Jo raised an eyebrow, he couldn't remember the last time that he'd been on a date. And then it had always been his sisters who helped him choose a shirt, even Will was better at it than he was. "Okay, see you in ten."

He rushed to his room, it was down at the other end of the corridor, and the first thing that he did was phone Will.

"I'm going out celebrating with Nico and he told me to 'wear something nice'," Jo blurted it all out, his panic rising as he looked at the choices in front of him.

"What have you got with you?"

"A plain black shirt, or a plain white shirt." Jo let out a groan, and he could hear Will trying to laugh quietly. "Both of which are crumpled at the bottom of my suitcase."

"Wear whichever one is least creased then."

Jo held them up, looking at the white one, which seemed to glow under the fluorescent lights of the hotel room.

"Which one are you going with?"

"The white one."

"Good choice." Will paused, and Jo could hear that he had more to say. "Are you going on a date with Nico?"

"No, we're going out celebrating."

"Okay…"

Jo smiled, and he knew that it wasn't going to be the last he heard of it. "What?"

"That sounds kind of like a date."

"If it is a date, you'll be the first to know."

Will laughed, and Jo glanced at his watch, his ten minutes was up, and he still hadn't got changed.

"I need to go, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll pick you up from the airport."

"Thanks, bro."

"Have fun on your date." Will hung up before Jo could say anything else, leaving him rushing to get dressed, checking his reflection in the mirror before patting his pockets to check that he had his wallet, phone, and passport.

He felt his heart flutter as he headed towards Nico's room, Will's words echoing in his mind.

_Does Nico think this is a date? Or is he just being friendly?_

Jo knocked on the door, trying to keep the grin off his face so that he could look casual, but he failed.

The second that he saw Nico he found himself blushing, fluttering his eyelashes as he wandered into the room, following Nico to the chairs that were sat by the balcony, looking out over the city as the lights twinkled below.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Sure." Jo took a seat, the sound of the coffee machine springing into action felt loud compared to the stillness of the hotel.

He stared out of the window, but his eyes were drawn to Nico, his jeans perfect over his rear as his shirt clung to his now more muscular body.

"Nice view?"

Jo blushed as Nico wandered over, handing him his coffee as he tried to think of a witty response and failed.

_You weren't even close to looking out of the window, he knows that you were staring at him._

Jo sat with his mouth open, his cheeks burning as he stared at Nico's abs, peeking out where he'd missed a button.

_Say something funny, anything to break this silence._

Jo sipped at his coffee, relieved when Nico sat down next to him.

"The track looks amazing from up here." Nico's voice was soft and low, almost as though he was talking to himself, the smell of coffee familiar, and it had become something Jo associated with Nico.

Jo felt his heart rate slow, glad that Nico had changed the subject before he ended up with burns on his cheeks. "It does."

The floodlights were glowing with such intensity that Jo had to squint, even from so far away, and he took another sip of his coffee.

They sat in silence, both drinking their coffee as the circuit descended into darkness, the F1 finished for another year.

Jo caught sight of the time, it had got late without him even noticing it, and he wondered if this was Nico's idea of celebrating.

"Wanna fuck?"

Jo blinked, staring at Nico as he smiled, relaxed in his chair as though he hadn't just asked for sex.

"Sure?"

"You don't sound sure." Nico leant in closer, his knee resting against Jo's leg as he reached out to hold his hand. Jo felt sparks fly through his body, and just the way that Nico was looking at him made his heart race.

"I…" _I don't usually have people just ask me if I want to have sex. Normally there's a lot of awkward flirting first._

"You seem to be a very straightforward kind of guy, so, I thought I'd just ask you."

Jo compressed his lips, unsure of how to phrase the thoughts running through his head, all of them pornographic.

"Yes. Yes, I want to have sex with you." Jo wanted to laugh, but the situation was far too surreal for that, and instead he found himself relaxing as Nico leant in for a kiss.

Nico's lips were on his, the taste of coffee mixed with a hint of chocolate, and Jo felt his eyes close, letting Nico take control as he savoured every second. The armrests of the chair were in the way and Jo found himself grabbing at Nico's shirt, pulling him closer as he felt his hand tremble. He wanted more and yet he still wasn't convinced that this was real, it all felt like a dream, Nico and his soft lips making him feel so good.

Jo gasped for air and Nico took the opportunity to stand up, still holding Jo's hand as he grinned.

"Want to take this to the bed?"

"Sure."

This time Jo sounded sure, licking his lips as he followed Nico to the bed, finally able to drag his eyes over him, appreciate his beauty in all its glory. There was a thrill to sneaking glances across a crowded garage, but that was nothing compared to actually feeling the warmth of his skin, the rush that he got when their lips met.

Standing at the end of the bed, Jo realised that Nico was barefoot, his attention had been elsewhere, but it made him feel overdressed with his shoes on.

He slipped out of his shoes, aware of Nico watching him, treating him as though he was a timid creature that would get scared and run away.

His stripy socks brought a smile to Nico's face, and Jo stepped closer, his lips hovering over Nico's as his warm breath made Jo gasp, taking away any hesitation as he rushed in for a kiss, his hands fumbling with the buttons on Nico's shirt as he stroked his soft skin, licking up every gasp and moan as his body demanded more, taking all that Nico was willing to offer.

Jo moaned in pleasure as Nico's hands slid under his shirt, leaving him breathless as Nico trailed kisses down the side of his neck, stroking his back as Jo arched his hips, pressing his body against Nico's.

His legs weak Jo found himself being guided to the bed by Nico, shuffling him up so that he could rest his head against the pillow as Nico straddled him, kissing at his neck as he undid the buttons on his shirt.

"Is this why you made me wear something nice?" Jo snorted in laughter, enjoying the look of delight on Nico's face as he stroked his hairy chest, grinning as he teased at his nipples, making Jo writhe.

"It's more fun this way." Nico winked, ducking down so that he could kiss his way down Jo's chest, his eyes watching his every response as Jo bit on his lip, trying not to moan out loud, but it all felt so good.

The slight scratch of Nico's stubble had his mind racing, showing off with his tongue as he inched closer to the zip on his jeans that seemed to have magically opened itself while no-one was looking.

Jo grabbed at the sheets as Nico slid down his boxers, pulling his jeans off with them like a waiter whipping off a tablecloth.

"Do you want this?"

Jo nodded, but Nico was still looking up at him, his mouth hovering over his hard cock as Jo opened his mouth, hoping that his brain would do the rest of the work.

"Yes."

Nico grinned, taking him into his mouth as Jo ran his fingers through his soft blond hair, it felt like velvet to touch and he found himself begging for more, his voice wracked with need.

Jo could feel that Nico was smiling, with his eyes closed it heightened every touch, his body floating on the brink of orgasm just from the warmth of Nico's mouth, and he wanted the feeling to last forever, but it had been so long since he had experienced intimacy like this.

"I'm going to come."

Nico sucked faster, his hand stroking the fuzzy hairs around his hole, and Jo found himself gasping for air, moaning in pleasure as he covered his face with his hands, his toes curling as he felt his body shudder with the aftershocks, the cool air on his softening cock sending more shivers down his spine.

The light seemed bright when he opened his eyes again, and Nico was grinning, licking his lips as Jo noted the damp patch on his jeans.

Nico lay down next to him, toying with his chest hairs as he caught his breath.

"Good?"

Jo was tempted to say it was the worst blow job he'd ever received, just to see the look on Nico's face, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He would do anything to see Nico smile, and he just wanted to wrap himself in all the warm fuzzy feelings.

"Amazing."

Nico leant in for a kiss, and Jo felt at ease with the whole world. And for the first time since he'd met Nico, he knew exactly what to say.

"Next time you'll have to let me return the favour."

"Next time?" Nico made a noise that was pure lust, and Jo smiled. "I like the sound of that."

Jo drifted off to sleep in Nico's arms, both of them smiling and content.

*

Jo woke up with the sunlight blinding him, but when he blinked a few times he saw that the curtains were closed, and the room was pitch black.

Switching on the light he wondered where Nico was, but then it dawned on him that he was alone, in his own hotel room.

_How did I get back from Nico's room?_

The more he thought about the previous night, the more surreal that it seemed.

_Did I just dream about having sex with Nico?_

Jo let out a groan, the one good thing that had happened to him lately, and he wasn’t even sure that it had actually happened.

Typical.


	5. Floaty

"So…" Will grinned as he sipped at his tea, glancing at Jo who was hoping to dodge the question that he knew was coming.

"So…?"

"So, how are things with Nico?"

Jo smiled for a second, the memories of Nico and his talented tongue flooded back, but it all faded when he remembered that it was probably a dream.

"Good, he's friendly, and we can have a laugh together."

"Figured out if he's into guys yet?"

Jo laughed, shaking his head as he wondered whether he should lie or not.

"I think so," Jo paused as Will grinned, and Jo knew that he was already planning how he could set them up together, "But, it's just a vibe that I get from him, I don't know for sure."

"I would say flirt with him, but you're really bad at it." Will hid behind his cup of tea, ready for retaliation, but Jo just sat back in his seat.

"Thanks." Jo snorted in laughter, Will wasn't wrong, he couldn't flirt if his life depended on it. "Are you ready for the race this weekend?"

Will chuckled at the change of subject, but Jo knew that he'd been waiting for this.

"I was born ready." Will downed his cup of tea, clearing away the cups as Jo checked that he had everything for the weekend.

Stacked up by the door their bags were waiting for them, helmets packed away in their own special cases. Jo had got it all down to a fine art, a necessary skill for a racer. At least his flight wasn't too long this week, which made things better.

Jo rattled his keys and Will leapt to his feet, heading for the door as Jo looked around the flat one last time.

Already he felt like he was away more than he was home.

*

Jo had to wait for his delayed flight, and he cursed himself as he started drinking his fourth coffee. It always left him jittery before flying, but he couldn't help himself.

He knew he would spend the rest of the day feeling floaty, as though gravity was malfunctioning for him, but it was just the effect of the caffeine.

The screen of his phone looked funny, and he gave up on trying to read the article, although that was for the best. There weren't many things written about him that were complimentary.

In the end he listened to music until his heart rate settled down to a more human rate, and he felt like he was in control of his own limbs again.

He boarded the plane, wondering what the weekend held for him. All he wanted was a good solid race.

That wasn't too much to ask? Was it?

***

His weekend had been a disaster, when there hadn't been issues with the car, there had been issues with the human driving it.

And then a Grosjean shaped blur had put an end to his race at the first corner.

Typical.

But he wasn't going to have too long to dwell on it. Once the interviews and debrief were over he was heading straight for Marcus and Pascal's hotel to drown his sorrows.

Not that he ever got drunk, not really, he had his sole remaining kidney to think about. But there was something comforting about holding a nice cold pint, and sipping at it while they all complained about their weekends.

He was leaving the garage when he felt someone's hand against his shoulder, and he turned round to see Nico smiling. There was a glint in his eyes, and for a second Jo felt like he was going to lean in for a kiss, but then a mechanic was shuffling past them, too polite to comment on the fact that they were standing in the way of the door.

"Are you flying out tonight?" Nico leant against the wall as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"No, I'm going to meet Marcus and Pascal." Jo fidgeted on the spot.

_Should I invite him? Are we good enough friends for me to ask? Would that be strange?_

"Cool. What hotel are they at?"

"The Hilton." Jo smiled as more people filed out past them, and Jo couldn't help but feel awkward. He was sure that his feelings for Nico were being broadcast to the world.

"I'll see you there in half an hour, I need to get changed first." Nico's lips grazed his cheek, sending a spark through his body, and Jo fought to stop himself grinning like an idiot.

Jo nodded, making a little noise in agreement as Nico headed off, leaving Jo looking dazed and confused.

*

He arrived at the Hilton as Marcus and Pascal were sitting down at a booth, beers in hand as they smiled at Jo.

Jo gave them a little wave before heading to the bar where he ordered two beers, and as he paid he wondered if he should have got Nico a German beer, but it was too late now.

He noticed the look of concern on Marcus' face as he wandered up to the table, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Two beers? That's not a good sign." Marcus patted the seat next to him, and Pascal shuffled round so that they could talk without having to shout over the music.

"They're not both for me." Jo held his hands out, looking exasperated, as Nico strolled in the door.

Everyone in the bar turned to look at Nico, and Jo found himself staring with lust in his eyes, his mouth hanging open as Nico slid into the seat next to him.

"Hi." Nico took the spare beer from Jo's hand, and Pascal raised an eyebrow as Jo stared.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Pascal said, "Surely you should be off celebrating your points?"

"Can't I celebrate here?" Nico laughed, glancing at Jo as Pascal gave Marcus a funny look.

Jo couldn't quite decipher the look, but it was a mixture of confusion and disbelief, and Jo had to resist the urge to ask them if they could really see Nico sitting next to him.

_That definitely won't stop the pitying looks that your friends keep giving you._

Jo was aware that Nico was sitting a little too close to him, closer than Pascal was to Marcus. Closer even than Marcus was to him, and they'd been friends for years.

_Can they tell that there's something going on between me and Nico?_

Jo took a few sips of his beer, allowing it to relax him, and he settled in for the evening, laughing and joking with his friends. Having Nico so close to him made him feel light, the stress of the weekend fading away.

He couldn't help but notice that Nico's glances got more intense as the night wore on, Nico's leg resting next to his as Nico took every opportunity to let their hands brush, making it look innocent, but Jo knew it had a deeper meaning.

"We've got an early flight in the morning," Marcus said, Pascal rolling his eyes as he downed his beer.

"Night guys."

Nico waved goodbye as Jo smiled, watching them carefully until they were out of sight.

"Want to share a taxi back to our hotel?" Nico's tone of voice said everything, and Jo found himself nodding in agreement, unable to string together a coherent sentence.

*

The taxi driver was a fan, and they had chatted away to him, making sure to keep their distance, although from the way he was driving that was more difficult than Jo had thought.

By the time they pulled up outside the hotel Jo was dizzy from the alcohol, and the intoxicating scent of Nico.

They were alone in the lift, and Jo wanted to pin Nico down and kiss him passionately, but he wasn't impulsive like that, not when it came to dating.

Although dating wasn't the right word, a little bit of flirting and a blow job that he may or may not have dreamt didn't make a relationship. But the thought of asking Nico what was going on sent chills down his spine, so he was going to have to play it cool.

The lift pinged to say it had arrived, and Nico stepped out as Jo was lost in his thoughts, and it wasn't until the doors started to shut that Jo realised it was his floor.

Nico stuck his arm out to stop the doors closing, and Jo grimaced as he rushed out, heading towards his room as Nico followed.

There was no need for words, Jo just held the door open and Nico strolled in, sliding off his shoes as he headed towards the bed.

Jo could hear his grandmother's voice, telling him to offer Nico a drink, but Nico wasn't here for that.

Nico's muscular arm was pulling him towards the bed, and Jo found himself floating over to Nico, drawn to his beautiful smile. Jo let out a gasp and then Nico's lips were on his, guiding him until Jo was lying down, the comfy bed claiming him after a long day.

Jo didn't mean to yawn, but he couldn't help himself.

"Bored of me?" Nico grinned, punctuating his question with a gentle kiss as he stroked the side of Jo's face.

"Never." Jo yawned again, and Nico smiled, stripping out of his shirt and jeans as Jo did the same.

Nico leant in for a lazy kiss, his body pressed against Jo's and Jo would have given anything to stay awake, to savour this moment forever, but his eyelids were drooping, and Nico wrapped his arm around him. Jo drifted off to sleep with his head on Nico's chest, his arm draped over his perfect abs, and Jo had never felt more content.

*

Jo rolled over in the night, and the feeling of cold air surrounded him, Nico's fingers were intertwined with his, but the warmth of Nico's body was absent. His eyes flew open, and he saw himself floating above the bed, the blanket draped over Nico as he hovered in mid-air. Nico was undisturbed, resting on the bed even though it felt like gravity was malfunctioning for him.

He moved slowly at first, but then he was frantically trying to get back to the bed, Nico his only link to the world, the only thing stopping him from floating away.

Jo felt his heart race, panic flooding through his veins as he squirmed, his arms and legs thrashing as he tired himself out, admitting defeat as his body cried out for sleep.

There was the sound of a door closing, and Jo woke with a jolt, glancing around.

_There's no sign of Nico. The other side of the bed is cold… Did I just dream it all?_

His arms felt tired, and it wasn't from racing, it was almost as though he'd been running. He remembered the feeling of floating.

_It was a strange dream, did I scare Nico off by shoving him out of the bed?_

_Was he ever in this bed?_

Jo thought about sending Nico a text, but what could he say that wouldn't scare Nico.

_By the way, I was wondering if we were seeing each other, or if I'm just having very realistic dreams that involve you…_

He couldn't let Nico know. He couldn't let anyone know, not until he figured out what was going on.

_Maybe I should lay off the coffee, get a good night's sleep. Between that and the jet lag, it's no wonder that my mind is a little bit scattered._

Jo kept telling himself that the entire flight home.

But he wasn't quite sure that he believed it.


	6. Fire

Jo didn't like having to sit out FP1, but that wasn't what was making his stomach twist. He was sipping at his coffee when he saw Nico talking to Paul, not an unusual occurrence, but there was something about how close they were standing that didn't sit right with him.

Nico stroked Paul's cheek with his thumb, and Jo frowned. That was more than a friendly gesture.

He knew that he didn't have any claim on Nico, even if their casual relationship existed.

And that was a big if.

None of that stopped him from feeling jealous, scowling at Paul as he laughed at something Nico said.

Sergey sat down next to him, making him jump, and he wiped up the splashes of coffee with his t-shirt.

"Sorry."

"It's just coffee." Jo smiled as Sergey nodded. "Are you ready to get in the car?"

"Yes, hopefully it will go better this time."

"I hope so too. I think that must be all of our bad luck used up now."

Sergey nodded, and Jo crossed his fingers, even though he wasn't in the car, he needed all the data that he could get.

*

By the time Jo got back to the hotel that evening, his body ached with exhaustion. Losing a morning's worth of data had been frustrating to watch, but the car seemed to have good pace, and that gave him hope for the weekend.

But the image of Nico and Paul together had been tormenting him all day. He knew they were friends, and Nico seemed friendly enough with everyone in the paddock, but it still didn't sit right with him.

_Why would he stroke his cheek? That isn't something you do for friends, and Nico's not exactly the touchy-feely type._

Torn between texting Nico or getting an early night, Jo dozed off with his phone still in his hand.

***

The weekend was long and arduous, and his dad's arrival meant that any chance of seeing Nico had vanished, just like his chance of points.

At least he'd made it to the chequered flag without his car going on fire, which was more than Bottas managed. But it didn't take away the feeling of disappointment.

Nico was already on his way back to Monaco, and Jo was killing time before heading to the airport early tomorrow morning.

He was fidgeting with his phone, wondering if he should send Nico a text. He typed out the same message at least six times before settling on four words and a smiley face.

                Congratulations on your points :)

He stared at his phone until it became clear that he wasn't going to get an answer tonight, and he fell into an uneasy sleep.

*

Jo woke with a jolt, his alarm blaring, and he fumbled for his phone, but it wasn't there.

He sat up, his clothes clinging to his sweaty skin.

_Did I forget to get undressed before bed? Where's my alarm?_

"Jo, we have to go!"

It was Marcus' voice, and he was pulling him out of bed, the light flying on as Jo realised where he was.

A room filled with temporary beds, twelve of them, and Marcus stood over him, dressed in what looked like a uniform.

Marcus dragged him down the corridor, and Jo looked down to see that he was wearing the exact same uniform.

_Did we go out drinking? Where am I?_

Jo saw the pole at the end of the corridor, and he watched Marcus slide down it before doing the same.

_Why are we in a fire station?_

Marcus sprinted over to where several familiar faces were all rushing to get into their gear, and Jo stood frozen. Roberto was handing something to Marcus. Paul kissed Nico before running over to the fire engine at the far side of the station, its lights already flashing.

"Jo! Come on!"

_This is such a strange dream._

He rushed to get into the gear, it felt like second nature to him, and he leapt up into the closest fire engine, Nico jumping in behind him.

Nico fidgeted with his glasses, his hands clasped together as the fire engine sped off, sirens screeching. Jo clung on to Nico as the force of it pushed him out of his seat. Pascal was chatting to Stoffel as though they were sitting on a train, and they were both smiling.

Everyone seemed calm, and Jo felt his stomach churn.

_This feels so real. I can smell smoke._

Roberto tied his long hair back into a messy ponytail, laughing as Marcus dozed next to him. Marcus always could sleep anywhere.

"I got a ring at the weekend," Nico said, and everyone started cheering. Jo joined in, not sure what was going on.

"When are you going to ask the question?" Pascal asked, shouting over the blaring siren.

"We're going up to Scotland this Friday, and I was going to propose by the lake." Nico smiled, his big dorky grin that showed off all his teeth.

There was something jarring about everyone making cute noises as they sped through the city, on their way to a disaster, not knowing what they were going to face.

It wasn't dissimilar to his job, where drivers pushed aside all the thoughts of what could be, and focused on racing.

He almost felt calm, and then he saw the smoke billowing above the tall buildings.

Wherever the fire was, it was a big one.

"Right. Jo, Pascal. You guys work the hose." Nico grabbed his breathing apparatus as the rest of the guys did the same. "Everyone else, search the building."

Everyone nodded, and Jo looked at Pascal, hoping that the hoses wouldn't be too difficult to work.

"Stay safe guys."

Nico jumped out of the fire engine before it had even stopped moving, hitting the ground running as he dashed over to the police officer in charge.

The others all flew into action, tanks of oxygen strapped to their backs as they ran towards the burning building. Survivors running out towards the paramedics that were waiting for them.

Pascal jumped down and Jo followed, watching as he grabbed the hose, and Jo flicked some switches without having any idea of what they did.

Water shot out of the hose, Pascal struggling to keep control of it, and Jo rushed over to help him hold it steady.

They had the easy job.

The flames roared higher, and the building creaked, the wind only adding fuel to the flames.

Every second that the others were inside Jo felt sick, wishing that he could wake up and end this nightmare.

There was a bang, and shards of brick and plaster rained down on them. Jo shielded his eyes, people screaming echoed all around, and when Jo looked up, part of the building was gone.

He froze in shock, his mind screaming at him to move, to make sure the survivors were okay.

The hose sputtered out, kicking Jo into action, and he rushed towards the building, hoping that he knew how to work the breathing apparatus.

He saw Marcus and Roberto carrying someone out on a stretcher, blood streaked over their face as Stoffel helped a young woman hobble away from the building.

"You can't go in, the whole lot could come down at any moment," Stoffel yelled, and Jo glanced around to see if everyone was out.

Nico came running up, dragging Jo away from the building. "Building manager confirms that these two were the last of the residents."

Jo felt a sense of relief, the building was beyond repair, but at least there were no serious injuries.

They stood back as the flames claimed the last of the building, leaving a smouldering pile of rubble in their wake.

Ambulances left screeching into the night, and Nico's eyes went wide.

"Where's Paul?"

Stoffel shook his head, and Nico stared at him until he spoke.

"He was on the top floor, we lost contact after the first collapse."

Jo watched Nico shatter, his sense of duty was all that was keeping him on his feet.

"I'm sorry."

Nico crumpled into Stoffel's arms, and Jo couldn't take the feeling of guilt any longer.

The adrenaline faded, and exhaustion hit him hard, sending Jo head first into the concrete pavement.

Everything went black.

*

Jo's eyes flew open, and he woke up in his hotel bed, his alarm blaring as he adjusted to the light streaming through the blinds.

His heart was pounding and he felt like he'd been through a marathon training session.

_Jealousy is an ugly emotion. Did I just dream that Paul died?_

_I need to get control of my life._

Jo felt queasy, the smell of smoke still lingering in his mind, and his ears were ringing from the noise.

He switched his alarm off, and he saw that he had a message from Nico.

                Thanks ;)

                You'll get there soon x

Was that a kiss? From Nico?

_Am I still dreaming?_


	7. Perfect

Alex was pulling silly faces as Jo stared into space, blinking as he came back to reality.

"Will's worried about you."

"I'm worried about me." Jo let out a groan, burying his face in his hands. "I think it's stress."

Alex shuffled in for a hug, and Jo felt like he was a teenager again, confiding in his best friend.

"It's been a nightmare start to the season, and I don't think flying, or all the coffee, is helping."

"There's an easy way to fix one of those things." Alex took the cup of coffee out of Jo's hands, wandering through to the kitchen. The sound of the kettle boiling rang out through the flat.

Jo gathered his thoughts, and he stepped into the kitchen to see Alex looking through all the boxes of tea that they had. Most belonged to his sister, although since she did the majority of the shopping that was true of most of the food in the flat.

"What about this one?" Alex held up the box, and Jo recognised it immediately.

"It's for period pains."

"Oh." Alex grinned, and Jo could see him thinking of something witty to say.

"Don't even think about making that joke." Jo folded his arms and Alex shook his head, investigating the rest of the boxes.

"This one?"

The box was a pale blue colour, and the tea was called tranquillity, but Jo had no clue what was in it.

_Chamomile, valerian root, and lemon balm. I'm not convinced that's edible._

But it did say calming on the box, although the warning not to operate heavy machinery was a bit worrying. At least he had another day before he was due in Monaco, so unless it was potent, he'd be fine by then.

"Sure." Jo didn't look convinced, but he'd try anything if it meant that he got his stress under control.

Alex downed the rest of Jo's coffee before making himself a new one, and Jo wondered if he was going to end up having to take the coffee away from Alex.

The tea smelt strange, but he gave it a sip, the earthy taste balanced out by the sweet citrus hint, and he felt the tension fading from his body.

"Good?"

"Yes?" Jo took another sip, the calm working its way through his veins, and he nodded.

"Good." Alex smiled, bouncing back through to the living room. He was the one person that didn't need caffeine to make him more enthusiastic.

Jo made himself comfy, and he could feel Alex waiting for him to speak.

"So, I have a crush on Nico, and I think that he's flirting with me, but I can't tell."

_In fact, I think that we've slept together, but I can't tell if I dreamt it or not._

"And subtle flirting isn't a skill of yours."

"Hey!" Jo smiled, shoving Alex as he laughed. "I managed to flirt back, once, and it wasn't a disaster."

Alex looked impressed, and Jo snorted in laughter, shaking his head as he wondered if this was all he needed to end the stress.

"Thanks, mate."

Alex shuffled in for a hug, and Jo felt at ease.

"Anytime."

***

Jo felt good when he arrived in Monaco. It was a track that he liked, he knew it well, and although last year hadn't been kind to him, that was in the past.

Nico seemed to be in a good spirits, and he had the benefit of being able to stay at home for the weekend.

The sun was shining down on them, and it felt like all was right with the world.

And then he saw Nico chatting to Paul.

His stomach twisted into knots, and he felt his aura of calm fading.

_You're better than this, jealousy doesn't suit you._

But his body didn't get the message.

He found himself glaring at them, his face twisted as the barely concealed anger bubbled under the surface.

_If it bothers you that much, you should tell Nico how you feel._

_Yeah, right._

Jo took a deep breath, forcing himself to walk back into the garage, save himself the pain of seeing Nico laughing and joking with Paul.

_I'm going to have to get a grip before the practice sessions. I need to focus this weekend._

His little pep talk to himself worked for FP1, and he found himself relaxed as he sped round the streets of Monaco.

Lunch rushed by as he was eager to get back in the car, and he avoided having to talk to Nico because he was busy dealing with German media, explaining why he'd got no running in the morning.

Jo felt relieved that it was Nico that got the bad luck for this weekend, he'd already had more than his fair share.

And then his engine failed.

_That'll teach me to tempt fate._

Nico gave him a little pitying glance as he finished the session, but then it was straight into the debrief, and after that Nico was heading off to an event for his sponsors.

Jo had thought about sneaking into Nico's little room at the back of the garage, but his stomach twisted in knots at the thought of being rejected.

His mind couldn't take it if he was confronted with evidence that he was losing his grip on reality.

So, he slunk back to the yacht where he was staying with his family, and hoped that they couldn't see the disappointment on his face.

His sisters were sitting out on the deck, enjoying the sun, and he ducked inside to find Will reading a textbook.

"Bad luck with the engine." Wil sat his book down, and Jo plopped himself down into a chair, his body language betraying the smile on his face.

"Lucky it happened in practice and not quali." Jo shrugged, hoping it showed the right amount of indifference, but he wasn't sure that he succeeded.

His mind kept flashing up images of Nico and Paul together, and it didn't sit right with him.

Jo flicked through his phone, he didn't expect a message from Nico, and yet he was disappointed when he didn't see one.

He felt restless, and he knew that sitting around wasn't going to help him.

"I'm going out for a walk, I'll be back later."

"You don't have to lie to us."

Jo looked up to see his dad standing there with a cup of tea, and Jo froze.

_What do I say? Do I lie? But what is the truth?_

Will was on the edge of his seat, waiting for the drama to unfold, and Jo felt his cheeks burning.

"I…" He grappled for an explanation, anything that would cover his embarrassment, but it was too late.

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

"I've seen Nico leaving your room in the mornings." His dad sat down as his sisters burst into the room.

"You're dating Nico?" Emily sat down next to Will, making cute noises to make Jo blush, and Jo felt like he was under a spotlight.

_Maybe? But what kind of answer is that?_

"No, well, it's still early days." Jo fidgeted in his seat, and he knew that he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.

And then it dawned on him.

_If Nico's been sneaking out of my room, then he's spent the night there, which means we're actually dating._

_I'm actually dating Nico Hülkenberg._

_How the fuck did that happen?_

Jo grinned, he was sure that he looked smug, but he didn't care. He had a thing going with Nico, and he felt his confidence flood back.

Will shuffled closer, and Jo could see that he was enjoying his embarrassment. "Tell us everything."

He smiled, unable to put it all into words, and he found himself fidgeting with his phone.

Jo sent Nico a text, asking if he wanted to hang out this evening, and he got an instant reply.

                Yes x

His address followed and Jo wanted to sprint across Monaco to be with him.

"Some other time, I've got a date." Jo stuck his tongue out, wiggling his eyebrows as he rushed off the boat, ignoring the barrage of questions.

He was just stepping off when his dad yelled after him.

"Don't forget you said you'd pick your uncle up from the airport."

"I won't forget." Jo waved goodbye, his grin shining out as he strolled through sunny Monaco.

It was a relief to have answers, and a pleasant surprise to have a boyfriend.

Well, maybe not boyfriend, it was too early for that, but a casual thing was still a thing.

He found his hands shaking as he knocked on Nico's door, his heart racing as he undid a button on his shirt, letting it hang open as the sea breeze wafted over.

Nico answered the door in a pair of shorts and nothing else, his muscles dancing as he ran his fingers through his soft blond hair.

Jo dragged his eyes over him, his mouth hanging open as he took it all in.

Nico grinned, his long arm reaching out to drag Jo into the flat, and he didn't even wait for the door to shut behind them before pressing Jo against the wall, kissing him passionately.

Jo stood frozen for a second, unable to believe it was happening, and Nico stepped back.

"Are you okay with this?" Concern was written all over Nico's face, and Jo felt like he'd messed up.

_You finally realise that you have a shot with Nico, and now you're acting weird? Why?_

"Yes, sorry." Jo groaned, burying his face against Nico's shoulder. "I know I've been awkward, but I really, really like you."

"There's no rush, we can take things slow." Nico stepped back, reaching out to take his hand as he led him to the kitchen.

Jo sat down on a stool, marvelling at Nico's immaculate flat, it looked like a showroom, rather than a place that someone actually lived in.

Nico offered him a can of cola, and Jo shook his head, patting his one remaining kidney as Nico found out a bottle of water. It was chilled to perfection, and it sent a shiver down Jo's spine. He sat down across from Jo, resting his splayed legs either side of him as the hiss of the can opening made him smile.

Jo wanted to joke about how sugary cola wasn't really what a racing driver should drink, but Nico looked so sexy as he sipped from the can, his thick neck bulging as he swallowed it all down.

A bit escaped his lips, dripping down his chest and drawing Jo's eyes to the bulge in his shorts.

"Are you okay?" Nico stroked the side of his face, tilting his chin up so that he could stare into Jo's eyes.

"It's just taking a bit of getting used to, and I saw you with Paul." Jo buried his face in his hands.

_Why did I have to say that?_

"I'm sorry."

"Jealous?" Nico's lips flickered into a curious smile, and Jo wondered if it was all a game to him.

"A little."

_I hate that I'm jealous, but that's how I feel._

"Paul was a long time ago, I was just a rebound thing to him." Nico shrugged, and Jo couldn't imagine getting bored of Nico, but he was grateful that it didn't work out so that he could have his chance to get to know him.

Jo reached out to hold his hand, intertwining their fingers, and Nico's thumb stroked the side of his.

"He's happily married and has the little one. We're good friends, and we're much better off that way." Nico let out a self-depreciating laugh, and Jo gave his hand a little squeeze.

Nico leant in for a kiss, sweet and tender, and his heart fluttered with happiness.

"So, you and Marcus?"

Jo was caught off-guard, wondering who had said what, but he knew that they were close.

"He's straight."

"Really?" Nico shook his head, raising an eyebrow as Jo wondered if Marcus had ever actually said that to him, or if he'd assumed it.

"Yeah, although that didn't stop me having a crush on him for the entire time that we were teammates. But we're good friends now."

Jo laughed, and Nico nodded, having a crush on a straight boy was the worst.

"Are you…?" Jo paused, unsure of how to finish the sentence. He didn't care if Nico was bi or gay, although he would be worried if he said he was straight.

"I'm bi, you?"

Jo tried to keep the surprise off his face, he was expecting him to talk at length about how sexuality was complicated and labels were constricting.

_I've been so wrapped up in my own worries that I completely misjudged you. I saw that you were cute, but I didn't see underneath that._

"I'm bi too." Jo blushed, and Nico leant in for a kiss, his hand sneaking up his thigh as Jo moaned in pleasure, his body waiting for the feel of his fingers against his skin.

Nico's tongue flicked at his lips, his mouth falling open as Nico smiled, his tongue darting in. Jo luxuriated in the feeling, soaking it all up as he slid closer, stumbling as he almost fell off the stool, ending up bashing his forehead against Nico's.

_Smooth._

"Sorry." Jo grimaced, but Nico smiled, rubbing his head as he leant in for another kiss.

"Can you stay tonight?" Nico's breath was warm against his cheek, and Jo felt fuzzy inside.

"I want to, but I've got to pick up my uncle from the airport."

Nico pouted, smiling as he leant in to whisper.

"I'll just have to make up for it tomorrow."

Jo grunted, and Nico sat back, a look of satisfaction on his face.

It was going to be a long and awkward drive.

Jo was on the outskirts of Nice when his hard on subsided, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

***

Friday was media day, and Jo spent the entire time smiling, counting down the hours until he got to see Nico again.

He'd thought he was lucky when he didn't have to go to the Amber Lounge fashion show, but Renault had other plans for how he would spend his Friday evening.

Although Nico would be there too, and a night of eyeing each other up at a party did sound like fun.

The second he laid eyes on Nico everything came to a stop, the noise of the crowd fading away as he stared at his beautiful god of a man.

_I can't believe we're dating._

Jo smiled, wandering across the room as though Nico's magnetic field was drawing him closer.

He said hi to a few people from the team, but his eyes kept glancing back at Nico, his crisp white shirt looked perfect on him.

_I am going to have fun undressing you later._

Jo's cock twitched, and he knew that thoughts like that were going to leave him needing a cold shower.

_You are going to have to get control of yourself if you don't want to spend the rest of the evening hiding your erection._

Nico leant in as he reached for a drink, and Jo's breath hitched, the feeling of Nico's warm breath against his ear raising the temperature in the room.

"I missed you last night."

Jo leant in close, hoping that the noise of the crowd would be seen as sufficient reason to whisper into his teammate's ear.

"I drove most of the way to Nice with a hard on because of you."

Nico laughed, smirking as he sipped at his drink, and Jo fluttered his eyelashes, basking in the attention.

Jo had no idea who he talked to that evening, he vaguely remembered chatting to Dany but he couldn't say for sure.

All his attention was focused on Nico.

Each 'accidental' brush of their hands, the glances that lingered a little too long to be considered friendly, the teasing words whispered as though they were sharing a joke. It was all foreplay to them.

Nico had left first, so that it didn't look suspicious, and Jo had spent the last few minutes checking his watch to see if he could leave without anyone noticing him heading towards Nico's flat.

The cool evening air sent a shiver down Jo's spine, his thin jacket no match for the sea breeze. He kept his head down as he strolled through the streets of Monaco, without his team gear he looked like an ordinary guy, well, as ordinary as any other fan.

His heart was racing, his smile unstoppable as he approached the door, and he jogged over to Nico, rushing inside with trembling legs.

"Did you miss me?" Nico leant in for a kiss, and Jo forgot how to speak, his body working on instincts, responding to every touch of Nico's lips.

Jo fumbled with the buttons on Nico's shirt, never breaking the kiss, his tongue greedy for more, the wet sounds mingling with the needy gasps and moans.

He backed Nico up against the wall, nuzzling against the side of his neck, his teeth grazing over the vein, feeling Nico's heart race.

Nico's nails raked over his back, leaving Jo on the brink of orgasm as Nico nipped at his earlobe, forcing their bodies together as he dragged Jo into a passionate kiss.

Jo gasped for air, his hands gripping at Nico's perfect rear as he rubbed against him, seeking his release.

"Do you want to take this to the bed?"

Jo nodded, biting his lip as he stared into Nico's beautiful eyes, but nothing could have prepared him for what Nico did next.

He picked Jo up, carrying him bridal style as he stumbled towards the bedroom, leaving a trail of destruction as Jo's lanky legs knocked things over on the way past. Jo couldn't stop laughing, nuzzling against Nico's neck as he showered him with kisses.

They fell on to the bed as a heap of limbs, Jo rushing to unbutton his shirt as Nico made quick work of his trousers.

Jo lay out on the bed with his legs spread wide, his hard cock jutting out, and Nico paused, rubbing at his crotch as Jo beckoned him with a crook of his fingers. He slipped out of his trousers, revealing boxers stretched to their limits, and Jo murmured in appreciation as he wriggled out of them.

"You're a very attractive guy." Nico nodded at his hard cock, and Jo grinned, marvelling at the size of it, relaxing as Nico sat down next to him.

_You are so gorgeous, and funny, and dorky. What are you doing with me?_

"So are you." Jo's hand crept towards his cock, giving himself a few strokes as Nico dragged his eyes over him, and he stretched out so that his head was resting by Nico's crotch, his own cock hovering inches from Nico's face.

_I don't care if this is a dream or not, I'm going to enjoy every second of this._

Jo licked his lips, smirking as he stuck his tongue out, the salty musk of Nico's hard cock giving him the confidence to lean in and lick the tip, Nico's breathless gasps encouraging him, and he looked up to see Nico with his head thrown back, eyes scrunched shut and a smile on his face.

He toyed with the soft blond hairs surrounding Nico's thick cock, letting his tongue trace the veins as he wrapped his hand around him, taking the head into his mouth as he moaned and gasped in pleasure, settling into a nice rhythm.

Nico's fingers were grasping at his head, massaging little circles as he took more of him into his mouth, gagging as Nico's impressive cock hit the back of his throat, and he ended up drooling around him, his hand playing with the slick as he cupped his balls.

Nico filled his senses, the sweet and salty mixing to leave him feeling dizzy, overwhelmed, and yet he wanted more. His fingers teased at his hole, his muscles quivering as Jo relaxed, trusting his instincts as Nico begged for more, pleading for his release.

He was so focused on pleasing Nico that he moaned out loud as Nico's warm mouth sucked at his tip, his response instant as he shuddered in orgasm, lips slack as Nico came at the same time, spilling his load down Jo's throat.

Jo lay gasping, his toes curled into the bed as Nico trailed his fingernails over his abs, sending aftershocks through his body as he shivered in pleasure, writhing on the bed.

His mind struggled for words, his eyes still shut as he revelled in the feeling of bliss.

"Fuck." Nico's voice was soft, his words slurred as he rolled over to rest his head against Jo's thigh.

"Fuck." Jo reached out to hold Nico's hand, grounding himself as the sound of his heart pounding faded, goose bumps rippling over his skin.

He opened his eyes to see Nico looking sleepy, his eyelids drooping as he lazily stroked Jo's side.

Jo pulled him up so that he could cuddle in to Nico, his warm skin stoking the fire burning in his soul.

This was true happiness.

*

Jo woke up to an empty bed, and panic coursed through his veins, making him sit up as he scanned the room for any sign of Nico. There was the faint whirr of a fan, but there was no sound of running water, or the coffee machine.

_Please don't let this be a dream._

He took in his surroundings, he definitely wasn't in a hotel, or on the yacht.

_Please let this be Nico's place._

He stretched as he slung his legs out of bed, pushing the duvet aside, when he heard something crinkle.

 

                You're so beautiful when you sleep,  
                I didn't want to wake you but I had to go film something for RTL.  
                See you in the garage, Nico x

 

Jo grinned, the warm and fuzzy feeling spreading through his body as he clutched the little square of paper.

And then he saw the time. 8:15.

_Fuck, Will's race._

Jo pulled on his trousers, scrabbling around for a Renault t-shirt, the scent of chocolate and burgers reminding him of Nico.

He jogged down to the track, arriving as the cars were getting ready on the grid, a sea of mechanics and team personnel swarming around.

Will on pole made him easy to find, and Jo crouched down next to the car so that he could chat.

"Have fun last night?" Even with the helmet on Jo could tell that Will was smiling.

"I did." Jo raised an eyebrow, unable to stop his grin, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Good luck for the race."

"I've got it covered." Will winked at him, waving goodbye as Jo was herded off the grid.

He bumped into his dad, and the knowing look said it all.

Jo blushed, still grinning like an idiot, and he hoped that his happiness would translate into good results.

***

Jo knocked on the door of Nico's flat, holding up the small cake box in the hope that he could bribe his way in.

He hadn't heard from Nico since the race, and he wasn't sure if he wanted peace or not, but he had to try and cheer him up.

Jo had scoured Monaco for the best cake shop, and then he'd seen it. Soft, moist cake and lashings of thick chocolate frosting had called out to him, and he knew that it was the one for Nico.

His own race had been frustrating, eleventh the most infuriating of finishing positions, but it was far better than Nico's DNF.

Jo was about to leave when he heard the chain being taken off, and the door opened to reveal a tired looking Nico.

_I don't like it when you're sad, I'd do anything to see you smile._

"I'm sorry." Jo stroked the side of Nico's face, and he wandered in, following the scent of coffee to the kitchen.

"These things happen."

"I brought you cake."

"I love cake."

"I know." Jo smiled, leaning against the counter as he opened the box, and Nico's lips twitched into a small smile at the sight of it.

Nico handed him a cup of coffee, setting a fork down by the cake, and he sat down across from him, Jo wrapping his legs either side of him.

He scooped up a small chunk of the cake, making sure there was a generous amount of icing as he offered it to Nico, delighting in the way that he smiled. His bright blue eyes shone as he took a bite, and his smile made Jo feel loved.

"It's perfect." Nico leant in for a kiss, and Jo licked the icing from his lips, the rush of sugar making him feel dizzy.

_This is so sappy and romantic, but I love it._

Jo fed Nico little bites of cake, teasing him with kisses between each bite, and once the cake was gone, they were both grinning like idiots.

_This is the perfect weekend._


	8. Heat

Jo shook his phone, wondering why it had picked now of all times to act up.

He was trying to text Nico, a simple good morning, but his phone kept flashing up old messages.

Well, he hoped they were old messages, and not someone else’s.

Jo squinted, trying to read what appeared, but it was gone before he could focus on it. In the end he gave up, hoping that Nico would text him.

He found himself dozing, trying to get his body clock on to Canadian time, and he woke to the sound of someone opening the front door.

“Hey, that’s me finished with my exams.”

Will flopped face down over a chair, his arms resting on the floor as he let out a groan.

“Cup of tea?”

Will gave him a thumbs up, and Jo smiled, rushing through to the kitchen as he checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time.

Jo had just sat down when his phone buzzed, and he almost poured his cup of tea over himself as he rushed to see what Nico had sent him.

                Good morning xxx

                Well, good morning in Canada :)

Jo snorted in laughter, and he blushed when he realised that Will was staring at him.

“Nico?”

“Yes.”

“How’s it going?” Will leant forward in his seat, blowing on his tea.

_I still can’t quite believe that I’m dating Nico Hülkenberg._

“Good?”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“It’s still really casual and I’m not sure where it’s going yet.”

“But you want it to go somewhere?”

“Yes.”

“So tell him?”

“I don’t want to scare him off.” Jo sipped at his tea, trying to think of a way to phrase the next bit without worrying any more people. “Also I’ve got to focus on my racing, so maybe casual is the way to go for me.”

“As long as you’re happy.”

“I’m happy.” Jo grinned, using his cup of tea to hide his blushing cheeks as Will wiggled his eyebrows.

“Are you going to answer his text?” Will sniggered, and Jo’s hand shot out for his phone.

He was trying to think of something witty when he realised that his phone was typing away by itself.

                It’s always a good morning when I get to talk to you x

_Strange, did autocomplete just finish my sentence?_

_Time to find the factory reset on this thing. Although it’s probably just the heat, it’s so warm that it’s burning my hand._

Jo stared at his phone, and for a second he had an ominous feeling.

_I’m just being silly, it’s an old phone, and this heat must be way out of its operating range._

_You should be worrying about keeping your seat._

That wiped the smile off Jo’s face.

***

Jo groaned out loud when he saw the chequered flag.

He didn’t even have to ask if he’d got through to Q1.

That was it. Game over.

*

Sitting in his little room at the back of the garage, Jo stared at his phone, hoping that what he was seeing was a glitch.

He jumped when someone wandered in, and he turned to see Nico standing there.

“Fifteenth isn’t too bad.”

“Tenth would have been better.”

Nico sat down next to him, wrapping his long arm around his shoulders as Jo cuddled in.

“Look at this.” Jo handed his phone over to Nico so that he could see the tweet.

_Hulk again spanks Palmer – 8/10ths off his teammate_

Nico snorted in laughter before looking back at Jo to see that he was still frowning.

“Spanking not your thing?” Nico smiled, leaning in for a kiss on the forehead as Jo shook his head.

“Never tried it. You?”

“No, but I’m intrigued.” Nico raised an eyebrow, and Jo let out a gasp. “I’ll add it to the list.”

Jo smiled, cuddling in closer as he reached out to hold Nico’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he felt his heart rate slow.

_List? You don’t have a ‘things you’d like to try together’ list if it’s just a casual thing._

_Could we stay together if I wasn’t racing?_

“I can feel my time running out, people aren’t denying the rumours that they're going to replace me at the summer break.” Jo felt his body deflate, curling into Nico as he felt the stress seep out, glad for someone to talk to.

Nico held him tight, stroking his back. Jo was glad for the silence, the only thing worse than the rumours were people offering him advice.

He was trying his absolute best every weekend, and knowing that it wasn’t good enough was a crushing blow.

“How about I take your mind off it this evening?”

“Sounds good.”

Nico pulled out something from his pocket, and he handed Jo a keycard.

“Room 923.” Nico ran his fingers along Jo’s jawline, tilting his head up as he went in for a chaste kiss. “I’ll see you after dinner?”

“I’ll see you then.”

Nico slipped out as Jo stared at the key, a smile on his face as he thought about all the things that Nico could do to take his mind off everything.

*

Dinner with Marcus was relaxing, and it was nice to reminisce about old times with a friend. Neither of them wanted to talk about their current situation. That was what interviews were for.

He almost told Marcus about his relationship with Nico, but he froze before he could get the words out.

_I’ve never told Marcus that I’m bi, and telling him that I’m seeing Nico means having to talk about it. I don’t have the energy to deal with all that now._

By the time that he got up to Nico’s room, his thoughts were ganging up on him again, and Jo made a deal with himself.

_If I’m still seeing Nico at the summer break, I’ll tell Marcus everything._

Using the key to let himself in made things feel more domestic, although after Monaco they were definitely in full on married couple mode, watching movies, eating junk food and lazing about in their boxers.

The door clunked shut behind him, and Jo paused for a second before saying anything.

“Honey, I’m home.”

Nico’s laugh made him feel warm inside, and he slipped off his shoes, leaving them neatly alongside Nico’s before heading towards the bed.

The sight of Nico lying out, a little towel wrapped around his waist, left Jo staring with his mouth hanging open.

“Wow.”

“Like what you see?”

Jo followed Nico’s hand as he unwrapped his towel, even half hard his cock was an impressive sight, and Jo found himself licking his lips, an unconscious action that revealed his desires.

“It’s far too hot for clothes.” Nico smiled at Jo, giving him a burst of confidence.

Jo flung his t-shirt off, smiling as it landed over the tv, and Nico switched off the film, placing the remote on the table as he waited for Jo to finish getting undressed.

He tried to look sexy as he hopped out of his jeans, his lucky red boxers bringing a smile to Nico’s face, and he threw them in Nico’s direction, leaving him naked apart from his stripy socks.

Jo blushed, rushing to take his socks off as he hopped towards Nico, stumbling as he fell awkwardly on to the bed.

“Smooth.” Jo ran his fingers through his hair, smiling as Nico dragged his eyes over him.

“Good job I’m interested in you for more than your stripping skills.” Nico stuck his tongue out, and Jo took that as an invitation for a kiss, sucking on his tongue as Nico’s fingers trailed along his spine, sending sparks through his body.

The kiss got more passionate, Jo writhing on the bed from the lightest of touches, and he let out a needy groan when his hard cock rubbed against Nico’s, teasing at what was to come.

Nico reached off the bed to get something out of the drawer, and Jo felt like every fibre of his being was screaming for Nico to fuck him.

“Roll over on to your stomach.”

_I love it when you tell me what to do._

Jo lay out on his front, making himself comfy as Nico whistled.

“Obedient.”

“Only if you’re giving the orders.” Jo looked back over his shoulder, winking at Nico as he forced himself not to grind against the duvet.

The sound of lube squirting out had Jo grinning, burying his face in the pillow as he closed his eyes.

_I want you to ravage me, make me feel good._

The bed shifted, and Jo took a deep breath, preparing himself for the feeling of Nico’s fingers against his hole.

And then Nico started massaging his shoulders.

_This does feel good._

Jo relaxed under his touch, his mind clearing as Nico worked his way down his back, undoing all the stress that had gathered since he left the track.

“You’re good with your hands.”

Nico leant down, his breath warm against his ear. “I’m even better with my tongue.”

Jo groaned, and Nico trailed kisses down his back, his lips cool as his big hands held his cheeks open. He arched his back so that Nico could get easier access, and Nico didn’t disappoint.

His tongue teased at his hole, circling as Jo’s whimpers got more frantic, his body begging for more as Nico slid his tongue inside him.

The pillow muffled Jo's moans, his body shuddering in orgasm as Nico’s tongue brushed against that spot, feeling bigger and longer than he could ever have imagined.

Nico moved so that Jo could roll over, and once the haze of endorphins faded, Jo felt his cheeks burn.

“I take it you liked that?” Nico stuck his tongue out, and Jo shivered at the memory of exactly how talented it was.

Jo groaned, words couldn’t describe the bliss that he felt, and he shuffled closer to Nico, needing the feeling of his soft skin against his.

“Since you’re done I’m just going to…” Nico trailed off as his hand wandered lower, but Jo stopped him before he could reach his cock.

“Who says I’m done?” Jo grinned, reaching out for the condom that was lying on the bed. He tore it open with his teeth, swiftly moving to roll it on to Nico’s hard cock, and the moan that escaped Nico’s lips had Jo hard again.

His cock was twitching as he straddled Nico, enjoying the fact that Nico looked impressed. Before Nico could say anything, Jo sank down on to his hard cock, biting his lip as the stretch gave way to sheer bliss, his oversensitive prostate sending waves of pleasure through his body.

He took a second to adjust, his eyes scrunched shut as he took a deep breath, testing his limits as he started to rock his hips. Nico’s hand stroked the side of his face and Jo forced himself to open his eyes, he wanted to savour every second of it.

“You look beautiful like this.” Nico’s blue eyes sparkled with lust, and Jo had never felt so loved, the intimacy every bit as satisfying as the feeling of being filled.

“You always look beautiful.” Jo went to stick his tongue out at the same time as Nico changed angle, hitting that spot and leaving him gasping.

“This ass looks very nice in a race suit.” Nico grabbed at Jo’s rear, pulling his cheeks apart and allowing him to thrust even deeper.

Jo’s muscles fluttered, his movements frantic as he rushed towards his second climax of the evening. He let Nico take control, his eyes falling shut as Nico sat up to hold him, pressing Jo’s hard cock against his stomach as he whispered sweet nothings in German.

Nico’s lips latched on to the exact spot that had Jo’s toes curling, his heart racing as he groaned in pleasure, grinding against Nico as he sought out every last aftershock.

He lay limp in Nico’s arms, his big strong arms holding him tight as he caught his breath.

“Good?” Nico kissed the magical spot as Jo shuddered, his mind clear.

“I love your cock.” Jo giggled, resting his forehead against Nico’s, admiring his dorky smile.

_I love all of you, but it’s far too soon to tell you that._

*

Nico had held him up in the shower, the smile never leaving his face as he soaked up all the attention.

There was no question if Jo would stay the night. He headed back to bed, cuddling into Nico, smiling as his fingers traced his scars.

Jo twitched as Nico tickled him, and Nico’s hand snapped back, the concern in his eyes obvious.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I’m just ticklish there.”

“I wasn’t sure if you…”

“It’s all in the past, I don’t really think about it.”

“What happened?”

“I was racing some friends on a quadbike, I was in the lead, and I looked over my shoulder to see where they were… the handlebars twisted and I crashed into a tree.”

Nico compressed his lips, but Jo shrugged, cuddling in closer as Nico stroked his hair.

“The last thing I remember was a little rabbit scurrying through the woods, it stopped to stare at me, and I could have sworn it looked worried.” Jo snorted in laughter. “I woke up a week later in hospital, and I was racing again in less than a month.”

Nico smiled, pulling the blanket over them as Jo yawned.

“We’re all crazy in my family, my mum and sisters ride horses, and they’ve collected a few injuries over the years.”

“Do you ever wish that you had a nice safe office job?” Nico stifled a yawn, and Jo shook his head.

“Where would be the fun in that?”


	9. Smoke

The smell of smoke still lingered around him from the car fire yesterday, and the whole weekend had been dismal. There was no way of sugar coating it.

But now he was curled up in Nico’s arms, drifting off to sleep as Nico’s soft snores filled the room.

It made everything better, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Jo woke to see Nico staring into his eyes, the cool night air reeked of smoke, and out the corner of his eyes he saw the smouldering remains of a building.

_This dream again._

“Jo?” Nico was shaking him, his fire-fighting gear scraping against the pavement, and Jo tried to form a sentence but failed.

Roberto rushed over to him, helping him sit up as Nico stared into his eyes, checking for concussion.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

Jo nodded, and Roberto helped him into the fire engine, the smell of smoke surrounding them.

_Why has my imagination been so overactive lately? All I want is a good night’s sleep._

Jo tried to tell himself that it was all just a dream, but it was all so vivid.

Stoffel comforted Nico as they made their way through the deserted streets, heading towards the hospital. Nico looked deflated, like his soul had departed, leaving only his shell of a body.

_I’d do anything to take your pain away._

In the end he closed his eyes, cuddling into Roberto who had an arm round his shoulders, keeping him grounded.

They pulled up outside the hospital with a jolt, and Marcus slid the door open, helping Jo down as they all wandered in.

It was a strange sight, all of them fully clad in their fire-fighting gear, the fluorescent lights making them all look pale and tired, even Pascal.

The nurse on duty didn’t look surprised to see them, and they headed towards the desk. Jo felt invincible, surrounded by people who had his back.

Apart from his family, there weren’t many people in his life that he could count on.

Jo stumbled, and someone reached out to hold his hand, someone else resting their hand on his back.

“Are you here for your friend?” the nurse pointed down the hall, and they all turned to stare.

Jo gasped, unable to believe his eyes.

“Paul?” Nico rushed over, and the others followed, their boots stomping against the hard floor.

Paul’s arm was bandaged, his fire suit tied around his waist the way they did with their race suits.

Nico hugged Paul until he winced with pain, and Nico took a step back, tears running down his cheeks.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

Paul leant in for a kiss, and the tension faded.

_It’s all okay. Everything is going to be okay._

Jo sniffed, the relief overwhelming, and someone put their arm around his shoulders.

Nico dropped down to his knees with such force that Jo thought he’d fallen, but then he saw what he was holding in his hand.

The ring.

“Paul, I love you, I love your cooking, and I even love the strange orange drink that stained our carpet.”

Paul looked confused, and for a horrible minute Jo thought that it was going to end badly, but then Paul’s lips twitched into a flicker of a smile.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Paul’s smile shone out, and Jo felt happy for him.

There were hugs and congratulations, and Jo felt himself slipping away. The only thing keeping him grounded was the arm around his shoulder.

Nico turned to face Jo, a smile on his face as he hugged him. “This’ll be you two next.”

Jo smiled, and he felt lips pressing against his neck, a soft kiss.

“I like the sound of that.”

He didn’t recognise the voice, not when it was little more than a whisper, a hint of an accent but that didn’t help him.

Marcus was chatting to Paul, so it wasn’t him, but that left a long list of possible candidates.

He tried to turn round, but he felt trapped, his body uncooperative.

The light was fading, and he could feel himself sinking into the floor as hands grabbed at him.

“Jo? Jo?”

Jo woke to see Nico staring into his eyes, the news playing quietly in the background.

He was slumped on the floor by the door, the duvet in a heap beside the bed. The smell of smoke lingered, and he wondered how long it would take to fade from his memory.

“You were sleepwalking.”

“Oh, sorry.” Jo stood up using the wall as support, and Nico helped him back over to the bed. “I had the strangest dream.”

“Want to talk about it?” Nico cuddled in next to him, draping the blanket over them.

Jo took a deep breath, the feeling of Nico’s warm skin against his own helped ground him. “We were fire fighters.”

Nico snorted in laughter, before glancing at the tv showing images of a fire, flicking it off with an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry.”

“It’s not you, I’ve had the same dream before.” Jo reached out to hold Nico’s hand, intertwining their fingers as Nico stroked his hair. “We got called out to a fire, it felt so real, and I thought that Paul died.”

“Woah.”

“Yeah, that was a crazy dream.” Jo frowned as a chill ran down his spine, and Nico wrapped his arm around him. “But it worked out fine, they, we, all went to the hospital, and Paul was there, and you asked him to marry you.”

Jo buried his face against Nico’s chest as he blushed.

“Is that what this is? You’re still jealous of Paul?”

“No, not any more.”

“Good, because there’s nothing to be jealous about.”

“I know, you’re all mine.”

Nico chuckled as he leant down to kiss Jo, his soft lips calming as Jo relaxed.

“Yes I am.”


	10. Flicker

Jo was packing for another weekend racing, the tv playing quietly in the background, smile on his face as he thought of Nico.

And then he heard something strange.

Christmas music. In July.

He paused, trying to figure out if it was coming from outside, but it was definitely coming from the tv.

_Did I put on something recorded to watch? No, I was watching the cricket. Live._

Jo dashed through to the living room, but it was now an advert for the never-ending DFS sale, complete with its tacky, but non-Christmassy, music.

_Just three more races and then you can have a break._

He sat with his head in his hands. All he wanted was a glimmer of hope, a weekend without a disaster.

The tick of his watch reminded him that he had things to do, and he flicked off the tv with a defiant stab of the button.

He found out his phone, unlocking it to reveal a picture of Nico, which never failed to put a smile on his face. There were messages waiting for him, and his smile turned into a full-blown grin.

                I can’t wait to see you again x

                I know the perfect burger place for dinner :)

Jo laughed out loud, Nico’s love of food was legendary. He knew of all the best, and most willing to deliver, places to eat around the race tracks.

***

Jo had spent the whole flight rubbing at his eyes, unsure if it was allergies or just the air conditioning. It felt like something was trapped in his eye, but when he checked in the mirror he couldn’t see anything.

His eyes were pink and watery by the time that he landed, and the drive to the hotel did little to help them.

He was on the verge of tears by the time he stepped out of the lift.

_Maybe that’s all I need, a good cry._

Jo snorted in amusement as a fellow guest in lederhosen gave him a funny look, and Jo had to compress his lips to stop himself laughing.

He strode round the corner, shaking his head at the strangeness of the world, when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

Nico.

He looked perfect, even after a few hours flying and the trek from the airport.

_I look a mess, and yet he’s smiling at me like I’m a double bacon cheeseburger that he wants to devour._

Jo grinned, blushing as he stumbled over his words.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Fancy running into you here.” Nico smiled, brushing his hair out of his eyes with the finesse of a supermodel at a photoshoot.

Jo giggled, his hands automatically moving to rub his eyes for what must have been the hundredth time.

Nico stepped closer, his breath warm against his cheek as he took Jo’s hand, stopping him from rubbing at his already sore eyes.

His voice was little more than a whisper. “Stop, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“They’ve been itchy all day.” Jo went to cuddle into Nico, but then he remembered where he was, and he froze.

Glancing around he checked that they were alone, and he noticed that there was a streak in his vision, like a trapped eyelash.

“You go get a shower, and I’ll come join you.” Nico took Jo’s keycard and opened his door, keeping the key so that he could get back in.

Jo nodded, slipping into his room as he heard the beep of the lock for Nico’s door. He rushed to strip off, the air conditioning sending a chill down his spine.

The irritation in his eye was long forgotten, the excitement of seeing Nico again masking his pain.

Setting the shower to cool, he groaned as he stepped in, the water like icy droplets against his warm and sweaty skin.

He was glad for a chance to wash before Nico arrived, the sound of the door opening had his cock twitching, and he reached down to give himself a couple of strokes while he waited for Nico.

“Miss me?” Nico’s grin shone out as he stepped into the shower, and Jo nodded, leaning in for a kiss. His moist lips felt like heaven against his own, and Jo let out a little gasp, letting Nico deepen the kiss.

Jo leant back against the cool tiles, dragging his eyes over Nico, his pale skin glistening under the water and his muscles rippling as he slicked his hair back out of his face, making him look like a god.

He couldn’t help but stare, water splashing in his open mouth as he tried to wipe the water from his eyes. He didn’t want to close them, he intended on admiring every inch of Nico for as long as he could.

Reaching out to run his fingers through Nico’s silky hair, he found himself relaxed in the moment, truly calm for the first time since he’d left home.

“You’re gorgeous.”

“So are you.”

Jo couldn’t quite get used to the compliments, and he blushed as Nico stepped in closer, his long arms wrapping around his waist and pulling their bodies together.

The kisses were more passionate, forceful, and Jo reached down so that he could wrap his hand around their cocks, his hand barely big enough to hold them both. Jo ate up all the needy moans that fell from Nico’s lips, each gasp pushing him towards his climax, his body trembling as warm come spilled over his hand, Nico grunting as he slumped against him.

“Fuck, that was amazing.”

“You’re amazing.” Jo’s voice was little more than a whisper, the aftershocks of his orgasm still rippling through his body as he leant against Nico for support.

There was a knock on the door, and Jo froze, worried that it might be his dad when he saw the grin on Nico’s face.

“Food’s here.” Nico darted out of the shower, wrapping a tiny towel around his waist as he headed for the door, and Jo turned the shower off, scared to come out of the bathroom in case the person delivering the food saw him.

He could hear the excitement in Nico’s voice, and he crept out once the door was shut, the smell of burgers and chips wafting over.

“Do you want to watch a film?”

“Sure, you can pick.”

“How about _Pirates of the Caribbean?_ ”

“I’ve never seen it.”

Nico gasped, and Jo felt guilty until he saw the big grin on Nico’s face showing that he was teasing. “It’s fun. But we could watch something else if you’d like?”

“No, I’d like to watch it with you.”

Nico made himself comfy on the bed, the towel left in a heap on the floor as he lay out naked, drops of water still clinging to his perfect skin as goose bumps rippled over his body.

Jo shrugged off the dressing gown that he was wearing before climbing onto the bed, lying out next to Nico as he unwrapped the food.

His burger was stacked high with meat, the cheese and salsa oozing out of the side as he admired it, and the sound that he made as he bit into it was nothing short of pornographic.

“You not hungry?” Nico mumbled, his mouth full of food.

“I just like watching you eat.” Jo blushed, his eyes focused on Nico’s mouth as he licked his lips, gasping and moaning as though he was coming.

Jo’s cock twitched in appreciation, and Nico held out his burger so that Jo could take a bite.

It was like heaven on his tongue, juicy and sweet, spicy and salty, all perfectly balanced to have him groaning in pleasure for the second time that evening.

_I can’t believe you’re sharing your food with me. I thought I’d get bitten if I tried to take your food from you._

“I feel honoured.” Jo found himself grinning as though he had won a race, his heart pounding as he waited for Nico to respond.

_I’m completely head over heels in love with you, and yet I’m worried that if I tell you, I’ll scare you away._

“I don’t share my food with just anyone.” Nico laughed, devouring the rest of his burger in three bites, before moving on to the potato wedges.

“I’d hope not.” Jo stuck his tongue out, and Nico leant in for a kiss, the spicy coating of the wedges making his lips tingle as he felt sparks flying through his body, his cock soaking up all the attention.

“You should eat.”

Jo pouted, but he knew that Nico was right. If he didn’t eat now he’d regret it tomorrow morning.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“It’s about time I took you on a proper date.”

Jo laughed, only Nico would think eating takeaway food naked in bed counted as a proper date.

“I will have to find a way to repay you.”

Jo smiled, cuddling into Nico as the film started to play. He ate until he was stuffed, glad that they’d had sex earlier, as he was definitely too full to enjoy sex now.

Nico dozed on his shoulder as the credits rolled, and Jo gave him a kiss on the forehead. He whispered to Nico what he wasn’t brave enough to say to him while he was awake.

“Sweet dreams, my love.”


	11. Strange

Jo looked at his race suit, the classic style making him feel humble. He was aware of the history of the sport more than some of the other drivers, because he was a second-generation racer, but seeing his new race suit made it all hit home.

_I’m so lucky to have this drive, and yet no matter how hard I try, I can feel it slipping away from me._

Jo sighed, folding his race suit carefully as he headed out to the live event, in his home city.

The excitement was bubbling over, he was going to drive an actual F1 car, on the streets of London.

He smiled to himself as he walked out the door, and that was when he saw it.

A strange wooden fence, cordoning off a part of the path by the road, that hadn’t been there when he last went out.

It was about the size of the average bus shelter, but what use was a bus shelter that people couldn’t see out of? The whole thing was strange, and Jo found himself creeping past it, his mind trying to make sense of it all and failing.

By the time that he arrived at the ‘track’ his mind was frazzled. The most obvious uses for the structure included somewhere to put the bins so they didn’t clutter up the street, or motorbike parking, but it still didn’t explain why it was wooden.

He shook his head, glad that he didn’t have to force a smile on his face when he saw Marcus.

“You live the closest and yet you’re the last one here?” Marcus laughed, sipping at his coffee, no doubt at least his third of the day if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by.

“I know, I got distracted on the way over.” Jo smiled, and Marcus leant in close so that he could whisper.

“By Nico?”

“How did you know?”

“I see the way you look at him… and Will told me.”

“Traitor.” Jo laughed, taking Marcus’ coffee out of his hands so that he could have a sip.

“He’s just worried about you.”

“I know.” Jo was starting to worry about the number of people that were worried about him.

“And I’m a little annoyed that I’m meant to be one of your best friends, but I had to hear about it from Will.”

“I…”

_I just didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how you would respond._

“I meant to tell you, but that meant telling you other things, and we’d been friends for so long that I couldn’t bear it if we weren’t friends anymore.”

“Did you really think I’d stop being your friend just because you’re dating a guy?”

Jo paused, and his silence said it all. He had been worried, and no matter how often he told himself that it was irrational, that Marcus would understand, a little bit of his mind was afraid to tell him.

“What are you two whispering about?” Nico’s laugh made them both jump, and Jo smiled, his stomach twisted into knots over not telling Marcus.

“Erm.” Jo’s eyes darted between the two of them, and he downed the last of the coffee. “Marcus knows.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” Marcus smiled, so warm and friendly, it was what had drawn Jo to him back when they were first teammates.

Nico relaxed, his hand reaching out for Jo’s before patting him on the back at the last minute, prying eyes all around them.

“If Jo trusts you that’s good enough for me.”

Jo took a breath, relaxing as the tension faded, and he wondered why he’d waited so long to introduce Marcus to his boyfriend. Well, the guy that he was seeing. He hadn’t yet worked up the courage to ask Nico if they were serious.

“How about after this we head back to mine and get a curry?”

“Sounds good,” they said at the same time, both of them laughing about it.

Jo hadn’t realised how much it had been weighing on him until now, the relief like a cool breeze on a warm summer’s day.

The rest of the evening was easy, the thrill of racing a classic Renault made his soul purr, it almost felt like he was transported back to the eighties.

_I would have loved to have raced back then, when the cars were fast and dangerous._

Just the smell of the petrol made him feel like a god, and he was grinning the whole way home.

Although some of that was definitely to do with Nico.

They managed to get back to the flat without anyone realising who they were, which made things easier, but it was also a little bit of a blow to the ego.

_Not even recognised in my home town, before my home race._

Jo passed the strange wooden structure, eyeing it suspiciously as he rushed to meet the delivery guy, the smell of curry like heaven to him, and he practically drooled over the bag as they headed up the stairs.

He paused as he opened the door, Marcus had seen his flat many times before, but Nico hadn’t and Jo felt panic coursing through his veins.

_What if he sees something embarrassing? I could just blame it on Emily._

_No, I’m not brave enough to do that._

“I didn’t tidy before I left, so…”

“You know I’m only interested in two things. The food, and the bed.” Nico laughed, and Marcus smiled, nodding in agreement as Jo blushed.

They wandered into the flat, Marcus heading straight for the kitchen to grab plates and cutlery. Nico followed Jo to the dining table, finally able to wrap his arms around him, kissing the side of his neck as Jo laid the food out on the table.

“Aww. You two are so cute together.”

“Thanks.” Jo smiled, and Nico used the distraction to slide into a seat, reaching out for a pakora and stuffing it into his mouth whole.

Marcus looked impressed, and Jo wondered why he’d never realised how similar the two of them were before now.

_This is the problem with hiding things, it makes it feel like the whole world is against you._

“You okay there?” Nico reached out to stroke the side of his face, bringing him back to reality.

“Yeah, just thinking about all this.” Jo spooned some rice onto his plate, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. “I’m sorry I never told you about this, or that I was bi.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s scary not knowing how people will react.”

Marcus nodded, there wasn’t a lot that he could say to that, he didn’t know what it felt like to hide something that was an integral part of who he was.

“I will always be your friend, and stand by you, no matter what happens.”

“Thank you.” Jo sniffed, and Marcus looked equally as emotional. He wiped at a tear with the back of his hand. “It’s just the chillies.”

Everyone laughed, and from there it was a nice evening, relaxing with the ones he loved.

Marcus and Nico got on well, chatting about racing, and their siblings. Jo feared the worst when Nico and Marcus both went for the last samosa at the same time, but Nico let Marcus have it, and Jo knew that Nico had done that for him.

It was nice to be able to cuddle up on the sofa with Nico, without worrying if they looked too affectionate in front of Marcus, and that was where Emily found the three of them the next morning.

“Shouldn’t you three be on your way to the track?”

Jo groaned before glancing at his watch. Not even six yet, but it was going to take them a couple of hours, maybe longer with the traffic.

He rushed to get his things together, checking that he had his car keys before ushering Nico out the door, Marcus zombie walking down to the street. Marcus wouldn’t be fully awake until they reached the track, and even then, Marcus’ version of awake was very different to his.

The sun was peeking over the horizon, and Jo realised what was different. The strange wooden structure was gone, disappearing in the night as mysteriously as it had appeared.

_Strange, must have been a mix up, installed in the wrong place._

Jo wanted to ask Nico and Marcus if they’d seen it last night, but Marcus wasn’t the most observant, and Nico had been far more focused on watching his bum as he walked.

Just the thought of Nico finding him attractive brought a smile to his face, and he braved giving Nico a kiss on the cheek before they got into the car.

The dorky grin that he got in response made his heart flutter, and he had a good feeling about the weekend.

Points at his home race felt possible, and he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen.

***

Hydraulic failure.

He could have cried when he heard those words, this was the cruellest form of torture, not even being allowed to start his home race, never mind have a chance to do well in it.

Slinking back to the garage with his helmet on, he headed to his little room at the back, ignoring the pitying looks of his friends and family.

He took his helmet off and crumpled to the floor, lying in a ball as he wondered how the universe could do this to him.

That was where Nico found him nearly two hours later, still staring into space, numb from it all.

“It’s so unfair.”

“I’m sorry.” Nico held him tight, his soft lips kissing away the pain. “I’d do anything to make you feel better.”

“Just hold me.”


	12. Risk

Numb.

That was all he’d felt since his home race.

The rumours about his seat he could live with. His own mistakes he could learn from. But technical failures, they were random, and there was nothing he could do about it.

_I don’t like not being in control._

Nico had been checking in every day, which wasn’t their usual thing, but he was grateful that Nico cared enough to worry about him.

Alex had also been dropping in every day, although he didn’t live that far away, and it was nice to see a friend.

He was currently perched on the edge of the sofa, bouncing as he sipped at his coffee, and Jo made a show of drinking his herbal tea. The warmth spread through his veins, relaxing him as he meditated on the state of his life.

“What do you want to do today?”

Jo shrugged, and Alex shook his head.

“You can’t keep doing nothing. I know it’s been a stressful time for you, but you can’t give up now.”

“I haven’t given up, but most of it is out of my control.”

“In that case, if there’s nothing that you can do about it then there’s no point in worrying.” Alex grinned, and Jo wondered how he ever ended up friends with someone so chirpy.

_You make it sound so simple._

“How about we go down to the rescue shelter? Mum’s been thinking about getting a new dog.”

Jo smiled, he loved dogs, and if it wasn’t for his own crazy schedule he’d have at least two, probably more if he had the space for them.

“That sounds like fun.”

“Who can resist cute dogs?” Alex laughed, patting his pockets to check that he had his keys before dragging Jo up from his seat, throwing his jacket at him on the way out the door.

The walk was nice, there was something comforting about being home, surrounded by familiar things.

Alex chatted away, tactfully avoiding any mention of racing, which must have taken a lot of effort on his part.

_Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me? I need something other than racing in my life._

“Earth to Jo?”

“Sorry.” Jo shook his head, grinning at Alex as he waited for him to speak.

“How are things going with Nico?”

“Good.”

“Just good?”

Jo took a deep breath, raising his eyebrows as he bit his lip. “Very good?”

“Have you said ‘I love you’ yet?” Alex grinned, his eyes wide as he stared at Jo.

“No, it’s all still casual.”

_But I’d like it to be something more._

“But you want it to be something more?”

_I forgot you’re telepathic when it comes to me._

“Yes, but I don’t want to scare him away.”

“If he’s the right one you won’t scare him.” Alex stopped walking, leaning against the wall outside the rescue centre. The large red brick building loomed over them, and the sound of dogs barking in the distance was loud enough to be heard over the traffic.

“I know.”

“It’s not like you to shy away from risks.”

“It’s not.” Jo snorted in laughter, leaning in for a quick hug. “I’ll tell him next time I see him.”

“That’s my boy.” Alex stuck his tongue out, heading towards reception as Jo followed with a grin on his face.

_Maybe that’s all I needed. To be reminded that there are still some things I’m in control of._

*

Jo stared at the rabbits that were sitting in the pen next to the waiting area. They seemed unbothered by the sound of dogs barking and whining, and Jo watched as one cleaned their face, their lop ears bobbing as they did it.

Alex was busy filling in forms, and he found himself mesmerised by the calm and quiet nature of the rabbits.

“Do you want to continue?”

“Sorry?” Jo stared at the rabbit, confused as to who was talking.

He looked up to see a lanky teenager that reminded him of a pale Esteban Ocon, his black hair slick with product, and the bright blue t-shirt combined with the fluorescent lights made his skin look sallow.

“Do you want to come wi’ me?” His smile was friendly, and his name badge said Steve.

Jo couldn’t quite place the accent, although anything north of Birmingham was strange and exotic to him.

They followed Steve through to a room lined with cages, the dogs frantic at their arrival, and Jo felt their pain. He wanted to be able to take them all home, but given that he wasn’t around for half the year, it wouldn’t be fair on them. Or his sister who would invariably end up looking after the dog.

“Are you thinking of having kids?” Steve asked, and Jo looked confused, wondering who he was talking to. “We have quite a few dogs that have come from homes with children.”

“Us?” Alex snorted in laughter, and Jo smiled, still unsure as to what was going on. “We’re not a couple.”

“Oh, sorry.” Steve blushed, and Alex laughed, shaking his head as Jo giggled.

“It’s okay, our dads have a bet that we’ll end up together, so you might be right one day.”

“Hang on, they have a bet?” Jo narrowed his eyes at Alex, waiting for an explanation.

“Yeah, have done since we were teenagers.” Alex shrugged, and it was Steve’s turn to look confused. “Fifty quid on who makes the first move.”

“What? How did I not know that?”

“It was ages ago, when we were fifteen and stupid and did everything together.”

“I didn’t even know that I liked guys then.” Jo looked at Steve, and the way that he nodded said that he knew that feeling too.

“We could never hide anything from our parents,” Alex said, as though it explained everything, and Steve smiled. He was clearly going to have fun telling the other volunteers about the two strange guys who weren’t a couple, but really acted like a couple, who came in to adopt a dog.

“Sorry, you must be busy.” Jo crouched down to look at a dog who was curled up in the corner, trembling at the sight of people. The name on the cage said Sophie, and even Jo with his lack of knowledge about dog breeds could tell that she was part greyhound.

“It’s okay, take as long as you need to look at the dogs.” Steve looked at the clipboard that was hanging up, flicking through the pages before stopping at the one for Sophie. “She’s a little shy around people but she’s a good girl once you get to know her, calm and loving.”

“Hello sweetie.” Alex put his hand up to the bars, and Sophie rushed up, her tail wagging as she sniffed his hand.

“Looks like love at first sight.”

_I know that feeling well._

***

The weekend could have been better, but at least he was getting a well-earned break and time to relax so that he could come back fighting.

There was only one downside to the summer break.

He wasn’t going to get to see Nico.

They’d both made plans long ago, before they were sort of dating, and it was awkward to break plans with friends without being able to explain why.

Nico had joked about just showing up in England, which was fine by Jo, but teammates being spotted together during the break would raise questions.

And Jo needed to focus on keeping his drive, rather than answering questions about his love life.

“What are you thinking about?” Nico stroked the lines on his forehead, and Jo cuddled in, still ridiculously full from a large dinner of more burgers, the crumbs scattered across the bed. “You know I won’t take Kevin up on his offer.”

Jo had laughed when he’d heard what happened, Kevin telling Nico to, ‘suck his balls, honey.’

_I still can’t believe he said that to you. The ‘honey’ was bizarre, I’d almost say that he’s jealous._

Jo grinned, Nico sticking his tongue out as he leant in for a kiss, but then the frown lines returned.

“I’m not going to see you for a month.” Jo was trying not to sulk, not to sound too disappointed, but he was going to miss Nico.

Not that he would admit that out loud, he didn’t want to seem clingy.

“I’ll miss you.”

_You will?_

Jo felt all fuzzy inside, his heart racing at Nico’s words. “I’ll miss you too.”

“I’ll send lots of photos.”

“I’ll miss this face.” Jo stroked along Nico’s jaw, the soft stubble sending sparks through his fingertips.

“That’s not the only thing I’ll send photos of.” Nico chuckled, and Jo reached down so that he could slide his hand inside Nico’s boxers, the feeling of his silky skin like heaven to touch.

Jo smiled to himself, Nico’s cock rapidly hardening as he stroked away, delighting in the way that he threw his head back, his lips moist and parted.

“You look so beautiful like this.” Jo ducked down to kiss and lick at the side of Nico’s neck, feeling his pulse race as he nuzzled against him.

“I’m all yours.”

Jo growled, his body quivering as he soaked up every detail of this moment, breathing Nico in.

“I want you to ravage me.”

His heart was pounding as Nico froze, the tension building with every second that passed, and just when Jo thought that he’d said something wrong, Nico flew into action, tugging at Jo’s jumper with such force that their lips crashed together, Nico’s tongue darting into his mouth, licking up all his needy whimpers.

The kiss left them both breathless, and Jo let Nico take control, Nico helping him out of his jumper before sitting back, making sure Jo had a good view as he slipped out of his t-shirt, the trail of fluffy blond hair tempting him, pointing at the sizable bulge in Nico’s jeans.

“Lie out for me.” Nico’s voice was soft, tender, and Jo wanted to scream the words ‘I love you’. But all he could do was let out a sigh of contentment.

Jo grinned as Nico straddled him, tracing his moles as though they were maps of the stars, mesmerised by how lucky he was that the universe had aligned to create this perfect creature, and then make sure that Nico was in the right place at the right time so that they could meet.

_I can’t believe this is real._

Nico stroked the side of his face, staring at him with his soulful blue eyes, and Jo slid his hand around the back of Nico’s neck, dragging him down into a messy kiss as he arched his back, the roughness of his jeans only adding to his arousal.

He could feel Nico slowing the pace, the kiss morphing into something less frantic, more loving.

Jo ached with desire, his mind dizzy as Nico licked and nipped his way down, pausing only so that he could unbutton his jeans, Jo writhing on the bed as he waited patiently for Nico to touch him.

“You’re so beautiful like this.” Nico’s fingernails raked over his abs, making his cock twitch as he lay gasping, his eyes scrunched shut.

Sparks flew through his body, and the way that Nico played with the elastic of his boxers had him rock hard, his hands clutching at the sheets as Nico inched his jeans and boxers lower, his cock springing free as Nico took his time removing his clothes.

Jo could picture Nico licking his lips as he did it, his eyes wide and a grin on his face.

The bed dipped, and Jo froze for a second, but then he heard a metallic clink, Nico removing his jeans, the rustle of foil putting a smile on Jo’s face as he spread his legs, waiting for the feel of Nico’s talented fingers against his hole.

“Roll over.”

Jo surprised himself with how obedient he was, but there weren’t many things he would say no to if Nico asked him like that.

Nico’s big hands were moving him into position so that he was on his knees, his arse in the air and legs spread wide, his body trembling with how vulnerable he felt.

“Relax.” Nico kissed the small of his back, the rough scratch of his stubble leaving Jo desperate for more, and he felt himself melt under Nico’s touch, relaxing as his fingers teased at the hairs around his hole.

“I want you.” Jo didn’t care how needy he sounded, the pillow hiding his grin and muffling his words, but Nico never had any problem understanding what he wanted, able to interpret his body’s needs like he was reading his mind.

Nico’s breath teased at what was to come, his talented tongue circling his hole and leaving Jo begging for more, waiting for him to hit that spot that would leave him seeing fireworks.

The click of the lid for the lube made Jo twitch, his cock leaking as Nico’s tongue slid inside him, the warmth like fire and he pushed back against Nico, forcing him deeper as his moans vibrated against him.

He was so slick that a finger slid inside him easily, Nico’s tongue licking around his stretched hole as he worked Jo open, slowing every time that he felt his muscles flutter, leaving him on the edge as he forced himself to take deep breaths, wanting to savour every second that he got with Nico.

Jo felt Nico’s leaking cock trailing against his thigh, bobbing as he licked and fingered him, alternating in unpredictable patterns until Jo wanted to scream with frustration, his body crying out for its release.

He looked back over his shoulder, Nico’s blond halo all that was visible to him.

“I’m ready.” Jo’s voice was shaking, and Nico stroked over his prostate one last time, spreading his fingers so that he could slide his cock in between them.

He’d never felt so full, so stretched, and it took all of his self-control not to come on the spot, biting down on the pillow as he begged for more, the only words left in his vocabulary were ‘please’ and ‘more'.

Every inch of Nico’s glorious cock left him dizzy at the thought of being able to take it all, his body compliant as Nico filled him up, pushing him to his limits.

He grunted as Nico bottomed out, clenching around him as Nico let out the most beautiful of moans, and Jo wriggled his arse, hinting to Nico that it was time to move.

Each thrust left him dizzy with desire, his eyes scrunched shut as he gripped at the headboard, bracing himself as he rushed towards his climax, Nico’s hand reaching round to stroke at his sensitive cock, his thumb smearing the slick over his tip, the feeling of being surrounded by Nico, filled by Nico, was all it took to have him coming hard, warm come spilling over Nico’s hand as Jo screamed in pleasure.

Nico pounded away at his oversensitive prostate, leaving him floating on a cloud of endorphins, his body limp as he shuddered and gasped, clutching at the pillow as a second orgasm rippled through him, the mixture of pleasure and pain bringing tears to his eyes, the emotion overwhelming.

“I love you.”

_Fuck._

Jo felt his entire body tense, his hole clenching around Nico’s cock and pushing him over the edge, his hands gripping at Jo’s hips as he rode out the last of his climax, before slumping over him, leaving Jo crushed against the bed, his breathing ragged as the aftershocks left him twitching with the intensity of it all.

Nico’s breathing lulled him into a trance-like state, comfy having him close despite them being a sticky, sweaty mess of limbs.

“I love you too.”

Jo tried to twist round to see Nico, but he was pinned to the mattress, and Nico slid out of him, making him hiss as he adjusted to the loss, his body desperate for something inside him.

He rolled over so that he was cuddled in next to him, his breath warm against the side of his neck, and the perfect place for Nico to whisper sweet nothings.

“Ravaged enough to satisfy you?” Nico’s big blue eyes stared into his soul, and Jo was speechless, wrapped up in the arms of the man he loved, his mind clear and his body sated.

Jo nodded, leaning in for a kiss as Nico stroked his back, delighting in the way that it felt, like his fingers were electric, spreading tiny sparks across his skin.

“I just want to stay here forever.” Jo stifled a yawn, his eyes drooping as he snuggled in closer, the thought of moving the last thing on his mind.

“In this bed?” Nico snorted in laughter, and Jo grinned, he liked the sound of that.

“In your arms.”


	13. Break

Nico had sent him a topless selfie, he was wearing nothing but running shorts, and the way that the light glinted off his perfect blond hair made it look like a halo.

                I’ll race you? 10k?

_What’s my prize if I win?_

                Anything you want ;)

_You’re on :)_

Jo rushed to get into his running gear, well aware that Nico was probably already sprinting around Monaco, but win or lose, he was going to enjoy the prize. He hadn’t stopped smiling since Nico had said those three little words, and he felt like everything was going to be okay.

The house was quiet when he snuck out, not wanting to wake anyone. Especially Will, he’d been putting in long hours on his final year project, rushing to have it done before the second half of the season started up.

Racing and university was a hectic life, but it was in their blood, and Will was smarter. Much smarter than him, although Jo was starting to suspect that he was the dumb one in the family.

The early morning light was low, little glimpses breaking through the lush green leaves, the trees casting long shadows that snaked across the muddy path.

Birds singing made Jo feel like he’d been transported to another world, a far away place with no buildings, or roads, just nature in all its glory.

He picked up his pace as he thought about Nico, glancing at his watch as he tried to work out how far he’d run, but until he passed a mile marker it was hard to tell. The trees all looked the same to him, their unique features unappreciated by the majority of people who passed them.

The light shone in Jo’s eyes, and he felt his ankle twist underneath him, sending him flying into the grass.

He groaned as he caught his breath, nothing felt seriously injured, and he flexed his toes to check that his leg wasn’t too damaged. That would be all he needed this season.

“Elders! There’s an injured human, what do I do?”

The little rabbit twitched its nose, and Jo felt dizzy.

_Rabbits can’t talk, there must be someone else around here._

“I’m not injured.” Jo sat up, wincing at the sight of his skinned knee.

“Elders! The human spoke to me.”

Jo’s eyes went wide as a larger rabbit rushed over, shielding the little one from him.

“How do you understand us human? You shouldn’t have our technology.”

Jo watched as the bigger rabbit stood on their hind legs, eyeing him up as he shuffled backwards.

_This has to be a concussion._

More rabbits were gathering around him, and a shiver ran down Jo’s spine.

“Your technology?” Jo looked around, he was wearing nothing but shorts and a t-shirt, he didn’t even have his phone on him.

“Where did you get it?” The bigger rabbit came closer, the smidge of white on their nose marking them out from the other rabbits.

_All you do is dig holes and eat grass._

Jo pulled up a dandelion, offering it to the rabbit. “Did you create this?”

“No, well, no, they just grew here like everything else in this universe.”

_Universe? Not planet, universe. How do they know about the universe?_

“Where did you get our technology from?”

The rabbit crept closer, nuzzling against his hand before rubbing their chin over his watch.

“The watch?”

“Where did you get it?”

“It’s from my sponsor.” Jo took the watch off, holding it out for the rabbit. “I can get you one.”

“Other humans have the ability to make this?” The rabbit’s eyes went wide, and Jo could have sworn that they looked shocked.

“Erm, yeah, I guess?”

“Take me to them.” The rabbit twitched their whiskers in a way that felt like they were encouraging him to move.

Jo blinked a few times, wondering what he was going to do, but with the lack of a better idea he followed the rabbit’s instructions.

_I guess this is what insanity feels like._

He picked up the rabbit, amazed by how docile they were, and he carried them home, unsure of how he would explain it to his family.

The door was open, and there was the sound of the kettle boiling. Jo headed to the kitchen, and Will stopped stirring his cup of tea.

“Mum’s going to freak out if she sees that in the house.”

Jo sighed, setting the rabbit down on the worktop as Will made a cup of tea for him.

“Are they injured?” Will looked over the rabbit, his hand reaching out, not quite brave enough to touch them.

“No. This all sounds crazy but… the rabbit wants to know where I got the watch from.”

Will laughed, but it faded when Jo didn’t smile.

“The rabbit talked to you?”

Jo hung his head, staring at the rabbit fur that covered his t-shirt. “Yes?”

Will stared at him, and Jo could see the panic in his eyes. “What happened?”

“I tripped while running and I don’t remember losing consciousness but I guess I must have hit my head.”

The rabbit stood on their hind legs, staring at Jo. “Look human, all I need to know is where you got our technology from. It’s way beyond your comprehension.”

_All of reality appears to be beyond my comprehension right now._

Jo took off his watch, laying it out in front of the rabbit.

They sniffed at it, and Jo looked back at Will.

“You should call dad, if rabbits are talking to me I’ve clearly lost it.”

“You’re not crazy.” Will rested his hand on Jo’s shoulder, and for a second he felt calm, until he caught sight of the rabbit.

_You have to say that, you’re my brother._

“Rabbits are trying to destroy our universe.”

Jo stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with a thud, the rabbit peering off the edge of the worktop at him.

“What?”


	14. Broken

Jo was staring at the rabbit as though they were about to attack, but they just sat there on the worktop, wriggling their whiskers as Jo tried to make sense of the world.

“Rabbits are trying to destroy our universe?”

He looked at Will, still clinging on to the hope that he was joking, that he’d laugh and tell him how gullible he was, but all he saw was his little brother looking scared and confused.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’ve been trying to work out how to stop them since January, just after your birthday in fact.”

“We should tell people, warn them about it.”

“What could we tell them that didn’t sound crazy?”

Jo sat for a long time, trying to work out a solution to an impossible problem.

“We could kill all the rabbits.”

Jo felt the rabbit’s black eyes searing into his soul, and the chill that ran down his spine was enough to make him apologise.

“I’m sorry, please don’t kill us.” He was on his knees in front of the rabbit, his hands clasped together as he begged for the survival of not just his species, or even the planet Earth, but his whole universe. “Please, I’ll do anything.”

“Jo.” Will rested his hand on Jo’s shoulder, his voice calm, resigned even. “It’s no good, they’re beings far more advanced than the fur and whiskers that you see.”

The rabbit nodded, standing up so that they could peer down at Jo.

“This is not our true form, we exist outside these three dimensions that you are aware of.”

“Oh.” Jo reached out, his hand trembling as he gave the rabbit a stroke, his mind in shock. “Why are you destroying our universe?”

“Universes come and go, it is the natural way, the way it has always been.”

“Getting sense out of a rabbit is more difficult than you can imagine.” Will shrugged, and Jo wanted to laugh at how surreal it all was.

And then he remembered that the universe he lived in, was being destroyed.

“Tell us how to stop the end of the universe.”

“It cannot be stopped, not even by beings as powerful as us.” The rabbit nuzzled against Jo’s hand, and he started petting them again, watching as they made themselves comfy before carrying on. “When a universe collapses, another one is formed in its place. There is always a balance of energy.”

“This one isn’t collapsing though.” Will picked the rabbit up from the table, wandering through the house and up towards his bedroom, where his ‘university project’ was scattered across his desk, a large box that looked like the tower for a computer, but on its side, and random components that Jo couldn’t identify.

Jo sat down on the edge of the bed, taking the rabbit out of Will’s hands as he connected a little screen to a circuit board. Jo wasn’t sure what it was, for all that he loved cars, he wasn’t able to design or build one. He could repair simple things, but he always left the electrics to someone else.

“What is that?”

“It shows the very forces that keep our universe intact.” Will showed the screen to the rabbit, and they bobbed their head as though they were scanning it.

It looked like random wibbly lines to Jo. Will could have told him that it was tremors from an earthquake and he wouldn’t have known the difference.

“If the universe was collapsing these lines would be smooth, but they’re not.”

“There’s glitches in the universe.” Jo stared at Will, the realisation smacking into him like a bucket of cold water.

“Yes? How did you know?”

“I…” Jo stared at the rabbit that was now standing up so that they could look at him, and he felt the horror of his situation come flooding back.

_There’s an alien being sitting in my lap. I’ve stroked it like it was any other pet, and yet it has the power to destroy the universe._

Jo sat the rabbit on the bed, and they made themselves comfy as Will looked confused.

“I need to talk to you.” Jo glanced at the rabbit, who seemed unbothered by the turn of events. “In private.”

“Okay.” Will rushed back downstairs, returning to the kitchen and his now-cold cup of tea.

“Talk to me.”

“I’ve felt like things weren’t right for a while now.” Jo thought back to all the strange occurrences that he’d tried to explain away, that he’d put down to stress. “I woke up one night and it felt like I was floating, I assumed it was a dream, but it wasn’t, was it?”

“Gravity is one of the things that has been… temperamental.”

“The same for light, and time.” Jo looked down at his watch, stroking over the dial. “I thought my watch was faulty, but it was time that was broken.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you.” Will slumped down against the kitchen cupboards, still clutching his cold tea, clinging on to the little bit of normality that was left. “It’s my fault that all this is happening to you.”

“It’s not your fault. Why would it be your fault?”

“Because I borrowed a few parts from your watch to build the hyperspace oscilloscope. I put them back-”

“It’s okay.”

“And that’s why you’ve been experiencing it all, while everyone else gets to live their lives in blissful ignorance.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Jo looked at the watch, cursing it for all the misery that it had been causing him. “So if I take it off, all this will stop?”

Jo clawed at the catch for his watch as though it was burning his skin, and Will rushed over, taking it off and laying it out on the counter where the rabbit had been sitting.

“Please tell me that’s it over?”

Will shook his head, his hand resting over Jo’s wrist. “Sorry, the longer you are exposed to the multi-dimensional nature of the universe, the more your brain adapts to cope with it.”

“Great, so I get to watch the universe destroyed by rabbits.” Jo slumped over the worktop, groaning as he felt his joints ache and his muscles tremble.

There was a thump, and they both turned to see the rabbit standing by the door.

“How long have you been there?”

“Two point seven nine seconds.” The rabbit hopped closer, and Jo sat down on the floor before his legs gave out.

“Did you…?”

“I did not listen to your conversation, although I could have.”

“Good hearing?”

“Yes, but I would also be able to listen to your conversation if you were on Mars.”

“That’s not creepy.”

The rabbit sat cleaning their face, oblivious to the tension in the room, and Jo let his head fall back against the wall.

“Can you help us? Stop the glitches from happening?”

“There shouldn’t be glitches in the universe.” The rabbit flicked their front paws, and Jo felt anger surge through his body.

“Does that mean you can’t stop what’s happening?”

“No. It means that I do not know what is happening.”

They both jumped at the sound of the kettle boiling, and Jo looked up to see Will getting ready to make another cup of tea.

“Do you want one?”

“Sure.”

Jo wasn’t sure what it was about tea that made him feel calmer, but he was grateful for it now. The warmth spread though his hand, and the first sip was like heaven.

Will sat down next to him, staring at the rabbit who reached out to sniff at his cup of tea, before deciding that they weren’t interested in it.

“Can you stop our universe falling apart?” Jo looked at Will, and he spluttered as he sipped at his tea.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you figured out that the universe was broken. Can you fix it?”

“No, not without help from beings more advanced than us.” Will glared at the rabbit, and they moved their ears so that they were focused on him. “Like hare-brains here.”

_But hare-brains is probably the only one who can help us._

“I don’t even understand what’s going on. Are you sure I’m not crazy?”

“If you’re crazy, I’m crazy too.” Will sighed, ruffling the rabbit’s fur as he breathed out. “It’s all like a strange episode of _Star Trek_.”

“You know I’m not really a sci-fi fan.” Jo snorted in laughter, he knew that even if he did like sci-fi films, it probably wouldn’t help him now. “I wish I’d paid attention in physics class.”

“I’m not sure I can dumb it down enough for you.” Will stuck his tongue out, and the rabbit twitched their mouth in a way that made it look like they were smiling.

_Do rabbits laugh?_

“Yes, we can laugh, human, but it’s at a frequency that you can’t hear.”

“Sorry.” Jo felt a shiver run down his spine, knowing that the rabbit could read his mind was unsettling.

“It’s not like there’s much to read.” The rabbit stood up as Will sniggered, and Jo rolled his eyes.

“If you’re so smart, why can’t you stop our universe from falling apart?”

“I told you, universes don’t ‘fall apart’.” The rabbit twitched their whiskers as though they were making air quotes, and Jo frowned.

“If you don’t know what is causing the glitches in our universe, do you know beings who can help?”

“I will speak to the others about what is happening in this universe.”

Jo felt hope return, the numbness fading as he reached out to pet the rabbit. “How long will that take?”

“It will take as long as it takes.”

“What does that mean?”

“I do not experience time the way humans do.”

_Do I even want to know how long I have left?_

“Nine million, seven hundred and ninety-six thousand, three hundred and thirty-seven seconds.”

“How long is that?” Jo scrunched up his face as he tried to come up with a date, even a rough guess, and failed.

“One hundred and thirteen days, nine hours, twelve minutes, and seventeen seconds.” The rabbit looked irritated at his lack of maths skills, and Jo shrugged in defeat.

Will was plugging numbers into his phone, and Jo peered over his shoulder. “Twenty-fifth of November, at five p.m.”

“Why does that date sound familiar?”

“That’s the time that qualifying starts for the Abu Dhabi grand prix.” Will shook his head. “That’s not a lot of time.”

Jo reached out to the rabbit, he wasn’t above begging for help if it would save the universe. “Can you help us?”

“I will try.” The rabbit nuzzled against his hand, and Jo sighed. He was trusting his life, his universe, to a rabbit, and he wondered how his life could get any worse, but he knew better than to tempt fate.

Jo watched the rabbit hop away, slinking through the gap in the door, their white tail flashing as they ran back to their friends. Hopefully one of them would be able to help.

He thought about standing up, but he couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate.

_I’ve finally got a boyfriend, just in time for the universe to be destroyed._

_Typical._


	15. Sparks

Being back at work made everything feel almost normal again.

And then he remembered that the universe was being destroyed by rabbits.

At least he had Nico to take his mind off it all. He slipped into Nico’s room at the back of the motorhome, and the smile he got almost took his worries away.

“How was your holiday?” Nico leant in for a quick hug, and Jo felt the tension in his muscles fade. “The pictures looked amazing.”

“It was amazing.”

“I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me you were going.” Nico gave him a playful nudge, and Jo cuddled into him, inhaling his scent as he took a deep breath to steady himself.

“It was a last-minute thing, my sister said it was something she’d always wanted to do and I realised that we both had a couple of weeks spare, so why not just go?”

_Also now that I know the universe is ending, I realise there’s so many things that I want to do and so little time._

“I missed you.”

Jo’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Nico say those words, and he reached out to stroke the side of his face, gazing into his deep blue eyes.

“I missed you too.” Jo leant in for a kiss, it started as a chaste meeting of the lips, but it morphed into a passionate making out session, catching up on the weeks of separation.

His hands fumbled with the button on Nico’s shorts, and he was on his knees, staring at Nico’s glorious cock before he could think about it. Jo kissed the tip, delighting in the gasp from Nico.

“Anyone could hear us.”

“You’ll have to be quiet then.” Jo winked at Nico, not even pausing before taking his cock into his mouth, and the little squeak that escaped Nico’s lips made Jo grin with satisfaction. He looked up to see Nico biting down on his finger, his free hand moving to stroke Jo’s hair, and he made quick work of sucking him off, savouring the taste of him.

It was a nice distraction from all the problems of the world, the universe, to the point that he was surprised when Nico came with a muffled grunt, come spilling out of his mouth as he struggled to swallow it all down.

He sat back on his heels so that he could look up at Nico, his fluffy blond halo dishevelled, and he looked truly debauched with his shorts pulled down and his softening cock hanging out.

“I love you.” Jo’s voice was little more than a whisper, but he just had to let Nico know. He had no idea how much longer they had together.

“I love you too.” Nico smiled, tucking himself away before helping Jo to his feet. “You missed a drop.”

Jo’s tongue darted out to get the last drop of come from his lips, and Nico’s eyes were almost completely black, showing the world how aroused he was. “That could have been embarrassing.” Jo stuck his tongue out, and Nico leant in for one last kiss.

“I like this new side to you.”

Jo smiled, and he hoped that Nico couldn’t see the worries bubbling below the surface.

_You’d be terrified if you knew the reason for my change in perspective._

***

Jo had spent the weekend on autopilot, although he knew that to most people he looked much the same as he had before the summer. It was convenient that his resting face was dazed and confused, and even Nico hadn’t noticed that he had the weight of the universe on his shoulders.

Although it was Will doing most of the work, and he was coping with it so much better than him.

The race results were nothing spectacular for him, but at least he’d finished, and Nico had done well, sixth place, so at least they had something to celebrate between them.

Jo was lying out on the bed when he heard the door to his hotel room open. Even though Will had a key, he was sure that he’d knock first, so it had to be Nico.

Nico slipped off his shoes and got undressed, leaving his clothes folded neatly over the chair before sliding into bed next to Jo.

Jo cuddled into Nico, clinging to him as though he was all that was anchoring him to reality. The flickering lights and the strange glitches in gravity had become second nature to him now, although there was nothing more that he could do about it now. All he could do was wait.

Nico stroked his back, and the coolness of his skin sent a shiver down his spine.

“What’s wrong? And don’t say nothing, I can see that you’re worrying about something.”

Jo sighed, as much as he wanted to tell Nico what was going on, there was no way that he’d believe him.

“I’m just not sure what’s going on.” It was vague, but it was the truth, and probably the closest he could get to the truth without scaring Nico.

“With us?” Nico snuggled in closer, ducking down so that he could look Jo in the eyes.

Jo nodded, it seemed the easiest way out of this conversation.

“Is this because we haven’t yet used the b word?”

Jo scrunched his face up in confusion, he couldn’t work out which one of the thousands of words starting with b that Nico was referring to. “Bi?”

“Boyfriends.”

Jo felt his heart flutter, his smile shining out as Nico leant in for a kiss.

“I’d have thought that saying ‘I love you’ was a big hint that I wanted to be with you and only you.” Jo snorted in laughter as Nico chuckled. “But I do like the idea of being your boyfriend.”

“Then I am happy to be your boyfriend.” Nico leant in for a kiss, and Jo let all his worries drift away, living in the moment as the feel of Nico’s hard cock pressing against his thigh had him begging for more.

Faint sparks shimmered across Nico’s skin, and Jo’s fingers traced the golden glow along his jaw, delighting in the breathless gasp as Nico nuzzled against his hand.

The trail of sparks moved lower and Jo licked at them, Nico writhing under him as he sucked on his nipples, feeling them harden under his tongue. Out the corner of his eye Jo saw a light flickering, like a sparkler burning, and he reached down to stroke Nico’s thigh, grinning as he let out a needy moan, his hard cock pressing against his chest.

“You like that?” Jo licked a stripe along his chest, following the sparks back up so that he could nuzzle against his neck, leaving Nico’s chest heaving as he caught his breath.

“I like when you take control.” Nico’s eyes were staring into his soul, and Jo growled, watching as the sparks danced around Nico’s body.

Jo followed the sparks like they were a treasure map leading him to untold riches, the noises that Nico made were the ultimate reward as he kissed, licked, and stroked all of Nico’s sensitive skin. Goose bumps rippled over Nico’s body, his leaking cock crying out for attention, but the sparks had other ideas.

“More.”

Nico wriggled on the bed, and Jo looked up to see him hanging over the edge, rooting through the bedside table.

Jo sat up to see lube and condoms already sitting on the bed, and he got a glimpse of fur and whiskers as he held up the little foil square for Nico to see.

“Organised, I like it.” Nico lay back, his legs stretched wide, and Jo watched his lips glow, sparking him into action as he leant up for a kiss, eating up all of Nico’s gasps and moans.

He made himself comfy between Nico’s legs, sliding the condom on as if by magic, and the sparks swirled their way down Nico’s body, Jo rushing to keep up with them as they danced on the tip of his cock.

The taste of Nico on his tongue made Jo’s heart skip a beat, a smug grin on his face at the sight of Nico with a blush on his cheeks and his eyes scrunched shut, his hair sticking out as a thin sheen of sweat clung to his body.

“You’re gorgeous like this.” Jo slicked up his fingers as Nico let out a content sigh, the sparks dancing around his fluttering muscles. He slid a finger in, aiming for the spot that would leave Nico seeing fireworks, and the pornographic moans that fell from his lips had Jo desperate for more.

It took all of his self-control not to rush, to keep up the slow, teasing pace that had turned Nico into a writhing mess from the lightest of touches.

“More.” Nico’s toes curled as Jo felt him clench around his fingers, and Jo knew that he wouldn’t last much longer.

“I love when you beg.” Jo grinned as he lined up with Nico’s slick hole, ducking down for a kiss as he waited for the sparks to reappear, and the blinding glow was his signal to move, bottoming out with one long, slow thrust.

“I love you.” Nico’s voice was barely more than a whisper, his body trembling as he waited for Jo to move.

The kiss was tender, comforting Nico as he adjusted, and his soft moist lips felt like heaven against his own. Nico clenched around him, rousing him out of his thoughts, and he started to thrust, the intimacy of Nico’s warmth surrounding him overwhelming.

“I love you.” Jo stroked the side of Nico’s face as the sparks started to blind him, his thrusts erratic as he reached out for Nico’s hands, lacing their fingers before pinning them above his head.

The world went white as he shuddered in orgasm, the sound of Nico groaning in pleasure echoing in his mind as he felt their souls intertwine, the love stretching out through all of time and space.

Jo opened his eyes to see that he was sitting on the balcony, Nico sat between his legs with his arms wrapped around him, a thin sheet draped over them and the scent of coffee wafting in the air as they watched the sun rise.

The cool wind made the world feel so alive, so full of possibility, and Jo found himself smiling at the irony of it all.

He clung to Nico, memorising his smile, the way that the breeze ruffled his hair, and the look of love in his eyes.

_This is the moment I want to remember when the world ends._

_This moment of pure bliss._


	16. Happy Birthday?

Jo took the soldering iron out of Will’s hand, amazed that he hadn’t burnt himself. Will twitched in his sleep, and Jo stroked his hair, wondering if it would be better to wake him and make him sleep in a proper bed, or if he’d only disturb what precious little sleep Will was getting these days.

He went to leave, but the dim light hid the box sitting right in the way of his foot, and he fell to the floor with a groan, his wrist slamming against the ground so that he didn’t end up with carpet burns on his face. He glanced up at Will to check that he was still sleeping, clutching his wrist as he cursed his own clumsiness.

“Are you okay?” Will sat upright, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger.

“Yeah. Sorry, I was trying not to wake you.” Jo stood up slowly, not wanting to risk any more injuries, and he shuffled over to Will, wincing as he downed the cold tea that had been sitting on the desk.

“It’s okay, I slept for most of the day, the signal is on a twenty-four hour loop.”

“Exactly twenty-four hours?”

“Well, not quite, there’s a few minutes and seconds as well, but it’s close enough.” Will yawned, flicking through his phone, and for a second he looked like an ordinary teenager, with nothing more to worry about than uni and his love life.

And then the hyperspace oscilloscope started doing strange things, shattering the illusion of normality.

“What’s going on?” Jo moved so that Will could reach all the bits and pieces that were lying about on the desk, perching himself on the edge of the bed as Will worked away.

“I’m trying to work out if there’s a pattern to the glitches, or if they’re just random.”

“Does it make a difference?”

“Yes.” Will rubbed at his eyes before wrinkling his nose at his dirty hands. “If I know who or what is causing it, then I have a better chance of stopping it.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Erm…”

“You can say it, I’m too stupid to help you.” Jo smiled, waiting until Will turned around to pull a funny face.

_I’m just glad that you can still smile with all that’s going on right now._

“Science isn’t your thing.” Will raised an eyebrow, ruffling his hand through his hair, his curls sticking out at strange angles and completing the mad scientist look.

“I know. But I feel so useless.”

“Right now, I need my big brother more than I need an assistant.” Will yawned, stretching as he reached out for his now-empty cup. “Fetch me a cup of tea?”

“That I can do.” Jo gave Will a kiss on the top of his head as he crept towards the kitchen, wondering what his parents would think of them being up at this time.

No-one had said anything about Jo spending more time here, but the impending demise of the universe had sparked a longing to be close to those he loved.

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it to reveal a picture of Nico and he smiled at the screen.

Glancing at the time he thought twice about sending Nico a text, but once Nico was asleep he was dead to the world and nothing could wake him.

                Missing you x

Jo sat his phone down as he found out the sugar, putting two spoons in before adding a third for luck, and he raided the cupboard for biscuits.

                Didn’t expect you to be awake this late. Can’t sleep?

                Will’s up late studying and I’m providing the tea :)

Jo sent Nico a picture of the mug, his hands trembling as he thought about the fact that his time with Nico was running out.

His time with everyone was running out.

_I’m going to have to get a grip before people start worrying about me._

                You’re a good big brother x

                That’s because I’ve got the best big sister.

_I should really tell her that, I don’t think I’ve ever told her how glad I am that she’s my sister._

His phone flickered, and he felt his heart pound, his knees giving way as he slumped to the floor. When he’d caught his breath he saw that the messages had changed, it wasn’t Nico that he’d been talking to, but Alex.

_Please tell me I’m not dating Alex now. He’s like a brother to me._

Jo let out a little groan, grabbing the cup of tea and rushing up to Will, his wide eyes betraying the look of calm that he was trying to project.

“I think there was another glitch.” Jo handed over the cup of tea as Will nodded, his attention drawn back to the squiggly on the screen, and Jo peered over his shoulder, hoping that he could magically make sense of it all.

“The glitches are getting more severe.” Will shook his head like a mechanic staring at a smoking engine, and Jo could see his hope fading.

“What does that mean?”

Will took a sip of his tea, his eyes unfocused as he stared through the cup, and Jo knew what he was going to say.

“It’s only going to get worse.”

***

Worrying about the fate of the universe hadn’t left a lot of time for picking out the perfect birthday present, but Jo was sure that Marcus would love his gift.

A picture from Hungary 2013, the first time that they were on the podium together, both so young, Jo’s chubby cheeks making him look like a teenager even though he was twenty-two.

That combined with all the real Italian pizza Marcus could eat would make for a lovely birthday.

_I will do my absolute best to be happy for you all weekend._

_No thinking about the destruction of the universe._

*

Jo had found Marcus hanging out at the back of the Sauber garage, awkwardly chatting to Pascal, and both of them looked relieved to see him.

“Happy Birthday.” Jo rushed in for a hug, squeezing Marcus tight as he found himself wrapped up in Marcus’ arms.

_You have always given the best hugs, and I didn’t know how much I appreciated that until now._

“Thanks, mate.” Marcus grinned, his face full of mischief, and Jo found himself relaxing. “Party tonight?”

“On a race night?” Pascal looked confused as Marcus laughed, and Jo joined in.

“Remember when we used to stay up half the night playing video games and then race the next day?”

“No wonder we hardly ever won back then.” Marcus snorted in laughter, his eyes scrunched shut as his grin shone out.

“You want to come?” Marcus glanced at Pascal, and Jo smiled in encouragement, hoping that they could have a nice evening.

“Is it cool if I bring the boyfriend?”

Pascal’s eyes went wide and Jo remembered that there was something he’d been meaning to tell him.

“You have a boyfriend?” Pascal leant in so that he could whisper, his eyes wide and confusion written all over his face.

“Yeah, Nico.”

Pascal smirked, and Jo waited for the penny to drop. “You’re dating a guy with the same name as your teammate?”

“I’m dating my teammate.” Jo stuck his tongue out as Pascal looked impressed,

“No-one can resist the sexy German accent.” Pascal laughed, and for a second Jo felt like all was right with the world.

*

The word party implied more than four people, and a cheery atmosphere, rather than everyone sitting awkwardly while they waited for the pizza to arrive. At least Marcus’ hotel room was nice, although they saw so many that they all started to merge.

“Presents!” Jo shot out of his seat, making everyone jump before laughing nervously. He took the gift out of his bag, wrapped in thick blue paper with a gold bow on top.

“My favourite colours.” Marcus’ smile was so big that it looked like it could stretch beyond his face, and Jo rushed in for a hug, the awkwardness of the room long forgotten.

“How did you find this?” Marcus’ eyes were wide, and Jo could see how happy he was.

“It feels like just yesterday we were teammates.”

_I shouldn’t say that, if time keeps breaking maybe I’ll end up back there._

“I know, you look so young.” Marcus laughed as he showed the others the photo, and they all had a good chuckle at Jo’s expense.

“Look at those chubby cheeks.” Nico pinched his cheeks, and Jo gave him a playful nudge, making Nico stumble back into a seat, Jo falling into his lap after him.

Nico grinned at the photo, and Jo cuddled in so that he could see it, but at first glance it didn’t look quite right.

_Did I get the wrong photo printed?_

But it definitely said the Hungarian GP behind them, and the year was 2013, and then he realised what was different.

Marcus was on the top step. In whatever reality the photo was from, Marcus had won instead of him.

_I wonder what else has changed._

_Would my human brain even notice it?_

***

Jo couldn’t tell if it was time playing up, or his mind, the stress of it all clouding his thoughts. Lately he’d spent a lot of time dazed and confused, but no-one had noticed it, which was for the best.

He was lying out in bed with Nico, the smell of sex surrounding them and his body ached in a satisfying way.

Jo blinked, stroking a lock of blond hair back from Nico’s face, the thin sheen of sweat glinting on his forehead.

_If the grin on your face is anything to go by the sex was amazing, it’s a pity I missed it._

“I’m sorry about your retirement, things couldn’t be much worse today.” Nico cuddled in closer, and Jo stroked his back, more to comfort himself than Nico.

_They could, and they are._

Jo laughed, the hysterical edge to it worrying even to him, and he took a breath.

“All that matters now is that I have you by my side.”

Jo held Nico tight, unwilling to let him go.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	17. Hazel

Jo slept, but his mind wouldn’t let him forget what was happening. Every night he dreamt of the universe ending, waking up in a cold sweat as tears ran down his face, and tonight was no exception.

He made himself a cup of tea, hoping it would relax him enough so he could get another couple of hours sleep. No matter what else happened, he had to keep on going, pretend that everything was fine.

No good would come of people knowing. No-one would believe him anyway.

He wrapped the duvet around himself, switching off the light so that the shadows couldn’t haunt him, and he tried to get some sleep.

*

His mind taunted him with the image of the world on fire, him screaming for it all to stop, but no-one was listening.  He was clinging on to Nico, but no matter how hard he gripped his hand he could feel him slipping away, his atoms scattering in the wind as tears ran down his face.

A rabbit was nipping at him, and he twitched in his sleep, the pain shooting up his arm as he rolled on to his side.

The rabbit looked familiar, and he got a glimpse of his parents’ kitchen, Will making a cup of tea as a rabbit told him that the universe was being destroyed.

“It’s you.”

“Yes.” The rabbit twitched their whiskers, and Jo felt dizzy.

_Is it even possible to be dizzy in a dream?_

“Are you causing these dreams?”

“No, it is your own subconscious.”

“So why are you here?”

“I need your help.”

The rescue centre flashed up in his mind, followed by a white rabbit stuck in a small cage, and then a future where they were being injected with something. They were being put down.

He woke with a jolt, his pillow stained with tears as he glanced at his watch. It was past midday, and he squinted at the bright sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the blinds.

Without blinking he grabbed his clothes, running his fingers through his hair as he headed out of the door, patting his pockets to check that he had his keys and wallet.

Disorientated, he stumbled down the stairs, heading towards the rescue centre as he wondered what he was going to say that didn’t sound crazy.

*

“I’d like to adopt a rabbit, two actually.”

Jo stared at Steve, wondering if he would remember him from last time, and if the smile on his face was anything to go by, he definitely remembered him.

“They do like to have a friend.” Steve grinned, a sparkle in his eye as he stepped out from behind the desk.

“Don’t we all?” Jo laughed, hoping that it didn’t sound too flirty.

_Not that it matters any more._

The sight of walls lined with small cages tugged at Jo’s heart, and he wondered how many rabbits he could take without seeming suspicious.

“Have you had rabbits before?”

“Yes, when I was a kid.”

_Technically they were my sister’s but I’m pretty sure this rabbit will make sure they’re taken care of properly._

Jo caught sight of a familiar rabbit, sleek brown fur with a smidge of white on their nose. He ducked down to see into the small cage, and it took a second for his eyes to adjust enough that he could see them sitting in the shadows.

“Hazel, is that your name?” Jo peered through the bars, and she stepped closer, sniffing at his hand.

“My name is actually-“ the rabbit twitched her whiskers in an intricate pattern “-but it does not translate into any of your human dialects.”

“Ah.”

“I like the name Hazel, so you may call me that.”

“Would you like to hold her?” Steve asked, and Jo waited for Hazel to nod before saying yes.

Jo fidgeted as the cage was unlocked, and Hazel cowered for a second before letting Jo pick her up.

She felt so light in his hands, and he held her close, her tiny rabbit heart beating fast. He felt how fragile she was, how fragile all life was, and his head spun at the idea that it would all be gone soon.

“Don’t drop me, human.”

_I won’t._

Jo was sure his face was twitching as he thought the words, hoping that he was sending them telepathically to Hazel.

“You need to hold all the feet, human.”

Jo looked down to see her back foot grappling for purchase, and he shuffled until she was secure.

“She looks comfortable with you.”

“She seems happy.” Jo looked down at Hazel, and she shuffled up so that she could see over his shoulder, her whiskers tickling his ear.

“I will be happy, as long as you get me out of this place, human.”

_I will. What about the other rabbit? The white one that I saw in my dreams?_

“They are here.” Hazel bobbed her head, pointing Jo in the direction of their cage.

Jo petted Hazel as he ducked down to see in. “Rabbit number eleven.”

Steve looked apologetic. “Yeah, poor guy’s not got a name yet. We don’t always get round to naming them all, especially if they’re not likely to be rehomed.”

“Oh. What’s wrong with him?”

“People don’t like red eyed whites, they think they look creepy.”

“That’s awful.” Jo tried to reach in through the bars, but it was awkward while he was holding Hazel.

_Is this why you want me to save him?_

“Yes, he does not have long left.”

_None of us in this universe do._

“There is still hope.”

Jo snorted in laughter as Hazel wriggled in his arms, and Steve looked amused.

“Let me take her.”

Hazel, to her credit, behaved impeccably in Steve’s long arms, as though he was able to talk to her too.

Jo undid the bolt so that he could open the cage, and the white rabbit came rushing out to him. Either he was desperate to be free, or Hazel had told him of her escape plan in advance.

His fur was soft, and he relaxed as Jo stroked him, comfy in his arms.

_He doesn’t talk much, does he?_

“We are not meant to talk to humans.” The white rabbit licked at his hand, a small gesture of thanks.

“Let’s see if they get on.” Steve said, placing Hazel down on the floor, as Jo did the same with the white rabbit.

“I have a feeling that they will.” Jo held his breath as he waited for the rabbits to interact.

“I will get you out of here, friend.” Hazel rushed up to the white rabbit, grooming him as he made himself comfy, well as comfy as he could be on the cold concrete floor.

“Thank you, friend.” His ears twitched as Hazel’s whiskers tickled them, and Jo breathed a sigh of relief.

“Looks like love at first sight, although you’ll still need to keep an eye on them in case there’s any fighting.”

“You know we won’t fight.” Hazel paused her grooming of the other rabbit, and Jo nodded.

“I understand.”

“Right, well, if you’re happy with them, I’ll go get the paperwork.” Steve smiled, heading back towards the reception area, but then he paused by the door. “I’ll need a name for rabbit number eleven, for the microchip.”

“How about I name him after you? Since you’ve been so helpful.” Jo grinned, hoping that Steve didn’t think he was weird.

Hazel twitched her lips as though she was laughing. “All humans are weird, with your three dimensions and your limited brain functions.”

Jo frowned for a split second, and Steve nodded. “Esteban the rabbit, it’s strange, but I’ve heard of stranger.”

“Your name’s Esteban?”

“Yes, but everyone calls me Steve,” he said, smiling as he pointed to his name badge. “Have done ever since I was a little boy, when my mum and I moved over here from France.”

_Please god tell me that Esteban Ocon is still racing for Force India and that he’s not here volunteering in a rescue centre._

“There is no god, human. Just beings that your primitive minds perceive as gods.”

_And my Esteban? Ocon?_

“He exists.”

_He exists?_

“There are infinite possibilities across infinite universes.”

_Will was right about trying to get sense from a rabbit._

Jo groaned internally, crouching down so that he could stroke Hazel and her new friend Esteban the rabbit.

“The problem is not that I do not make sense, I am a logical being. The problem is that you cannot understand the multidimensional nature of the universe.” Hazel went back to grooming Esteban, and Jo sat down on the floor next to them, their soft fur comforting him.

Steve wandered back in, wads of paper tucked under his chin and a cardboard carry case in his hands. He sat the box on the floor, and the rabbits rushed to it, chinning the corners as they sniffed it.

“This is a one-journey job, but it’ll get them home safe, and if you cut a couple of rabbit-sized holes in the side they’ll play with it.”

_You like boxes?_

“Yes.” Hazel splayed out her whiskers, and Jo could have sworn that she just shrugged at him.

_Okay then._

The rest of the paperwork was dull, Jo signing a few things as Hazel grew increasingly impatient. There was a huffy sounding snort, and Jo could feel her displeasure.

“You’ll be going home soon, little ones,” Steve said, petting Hazel as she hopped into the box. “Looks like she’s desperate to get out of here.”

Jo placed Esteban the rabbit into the carry case, handing back the paperwork before carefully lifting up the rabbits.

“I’ve put my email at the bottom of the receipt, if you have any questions about looking after them feel free to send me a message.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Anytime, I’m just happy to see them go to a good home.”

Jo waved goodbye as he wandered out, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

_It’s strange the things that I’m going to miss._

*

Getting them home and settled had been easy, and everything they needed was getting delivered later that day.

But the fridge contained just one carrot, and a bag of lettuce leaves that looked decisively brown and slimy.

“I cannot eat that, human.”

Jo looked down to see Hazel roaming around the kitchen, inspecting her new home.

“I don’t think it’s even fit for humans to eat.” Jo chucked it in the bin, before holding out the carrot for Hazel to sniff.

“Yes.”

“I need to go shopping for more food, are you two okay on your own?”

“I will come with you.”

“You can’t come with.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a rabbit.” Jo said it as though it was self-evident, but he had no idea what multi-dimensional beings did for food.

“You can carry me, like you did earlier.”

“Too suspicious.”

Hazel scurried off, and she returned dragging a black leather handbag in her teeth, leaving it by his feet as she sat staring at him.

“You can take me in this.”

Jo sighed, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon arguing with a rabbit, and he needed food, both for rabbits and humans.

“Okay then.”

He crept out of the house with his sister’s handbag slung over his shoulder, hoping that people were distracted by that, and not the fact that a rabbit kept poking her head out of the top of the bag so that she could see what was going on.

“Please don’t chew the bag, my sister would never forgive me.”

“This cow, he died so young, he was only a few days old when they skinned him.” Hazel peeked out of the bag, and Jo had a sinking feeling.

“Is this why you’re destroying our universe?”

“I have told you human, we are not destroying it. If I knew what was causing the glitches I would tell you. I have existed since before the start of time itself, and I have never seen a universe break apart before.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Jo fidgeted with his phone, thanks to technology he could now talk to a rabbit in public without anyone thinking it was strange, although he was still worried that Hazel could run off.

“Where would I run to, human?” Hazel poked her head out as Jo waited by the trolleys in the supermarket car park. “My physical form is trapped in this universe just as you are.”

Jo sighed, it was going to be a long day. “You need to stay in the bag while we are inside. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

It was easy at first, Hazel was true to her word and stayed out of sight, but then he got to the vegetables section, and she wanted to see everything.

“Get those things, the round ones.”

“These?” Jo held up a bag of Brussels sprouts, eyeing them suspiciously as Hazel nodded. “How do you know that you want them if you don’t know what they are?”

“I can see the future, I know that they taste good, but I do not know their name.”

Jo nodded, if he kept muttering under his breath he was going to scare the other customers. He put the Brussels in the basket, before grabbing everything else that Hazel wanted.

Looking through the fridges filled with meat, he caught sight of rabbit steaks and he tried to think of something else, but Hazel was peeking out of the bag.

“What are they, human?”

Jo shook his head, not sure how to explain any of it. “I think that’s enough for now, we should head home.”

He went through the self-scan checkout so that he didn’t have to try and make small talk with the cashier as Hazel chatted away, trying to explain the intricacies of the universe to him.

“You did not understand any of that, did you?”

“No, you lost me when you starting talking about tiny strings holding the universe together.”

Hazel sighed, and Jo had never related to a rabbit more.

“I will do everything in my power to stop this happening.”

“Will that be enough?”

“I don’t know.”

***

Leaving the rabbits had been more difficult than he’d expected, and he missed the comfort of Hazel nuzzling against him for attention.

To make things worse, not that things could be any worse than the universe ending, he’d not yet got a chance to say more than hi to Nico, and now he had to sit in the press conference answering questions about his future.

All the focus was on the rumours that Carlos was set to replace him, which although Renault had tried to buy him out of his seat, he’d said no. So, unless they’d found another way to break the contract, he was sure that he’d see the end of the season.

Well, not quite.

A strange smile crossed his face when he realised that no-one in this room was going to see the end of the season. By then the very universe that they were sitting in would have been destroyed, leaving nothing behind.

_What happens to the atoms? Are they destroyed too? Or do they get absorbed into other universes?_

_I’ll have to ask Hazel, although I probably won’t understand her answer._

Jo fought the urge to laugh out loud at the strangeness of his reality. He was sure that anyone else in his situation would be freaking out about the universe being destroyed, and here he was talking about his seat for next year when there wasn’t even going to be a next year.

He snorted in laughter, covering it by pretending that he was clearing his throat, and he took a sip of water before bracing himself for the next question.

What was he going to do in the future?

_There is no future, none of this matters._

”I’m excited by what’s to come.” Jo struggled to rein in his smirk, no longer caring if people thought he was strange.

_All this is going to be destroyed, and right now, that doesn’t feel like a bad thing._

*

The next day, when it was announced that Carlos was getting his seat for 2018, he laughed for ten minutes straight, before putting on his media friendly smile and going out to face the press.

People almost seemed confused that he wasn’t upset about losing his seat, but they had no idea what was going on.

Jo was envious of their lack of knowledge. He wished that he could wipe it all out of his mind, live out his final few weeks in blissful ignorance.

But the thought of Will dealing with this all alone, was worse than watching the universe shake itself apart with him standing smack bang in the middle of it all.

*

That night he was lying out in bed, texting Alex to wish him luck for his WEC race tomorrow, when there was a knock at the door. He rushed to answer it, the cool breeze of the air-conditioning sending a chill down his spine.

He was surprised to see Nico standing at the door, and he wasn’t sure why he felt that way. They always found time for each other on race weekends, but life had taken its toll on him lately.

“Hey, can I come in?” Nico’s lips flickered into a smile, but it faded the second that their eyes met.

“Sure.” Jo stood back, wondering why it was so awkward, they’d been texting away non-stop before the race weekend, but since he’d landed in Singapore he’d been stuck answering the same questions over and over again.

Nico sat down on the edge of the bed, and Jo sat next to him, his heart rate picking up as he felt the tension between them.

“How are the rabbits?”

“Annoying my sister by chewing at her clothes.”

Nico snorted in laughter, but then the awkward silence returned.

“I didn’t know anything about them signing Carlos, I’d heard the rumours but I didn’t know that there were going to do it.”

“You thought that I was mad at you?”

“You’ve been distant these last few days, and I wanted to give you space, but after I heard the news today, I wanted to see that you were okay.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve just found out that you’ve lost your seat for next year.”

“I know, but I’m okay, I’ve got options.”

_Like ceasing to exist, along with the rest of the universe._

“How can you be so calm?”

Jo shrieked in laughter, falling off the bed with a thud as he struggled to breathe, and he ended up lying on the floor, silently vibrating, Nico’s eyes filled with fear.

“Should I call your dad?”

“No, there’s nothing he can do to help. There’s nothing anyone can do.”

“Jo, you’re worrying me.”

“I wish I could show you, I wish I could make you understand.”

For a second Jo felt dizzy, but then he heard Hazel’s voice in his mind. “I could show him.”

Jo felt a stab of pain as the image of Hazel flashed up in his mind, followed by a glimpse of Will and his hyperspace oscilloscope. Each new image was a white hot burning pain behind the eyes, and Jo screamed out for Nico, but he couldn’t see anything.

He gasped for air as the pain subsided, and he blinked a few times so that his eyes could adjust to the dim hotel room lights. Nico was sprawled out on the floor next to him, clutching his head as he rocked on the floor.

Jo stroked his hair until he was calm, whispering that it was all going to be okay.

“Okay?” Nico sat up slowly, still wincing with the pain. “The universe is going to end, and you’re telling me that’s it all okay?”

Jo reached out to hold his hand, but Nico shied away from his touch. He had no idea how Nico would cope with all the new information.

“How long have you known for?” Nico’s hands were trembling, his skin so pale that he looked green, and he slumped against Jo, his body exhausted after whatever Hazel had done to them.

“Since the summer break.” Jo wrapped his arms around Nico, holding him close as he saw tears well up in his eyes. “Will’s trying to stop it, but he has no idea if it can be stopped.”

“What can I do?”

“We just have to wait.”

“I was worried that you wanted to break up with me.”

“I wish it could have been that simple.”

***

Jo had watched over Nico carefully, worried that he would do something stupid with the new information, but he just looked deflated.

_I know that feeling well, it would be easier if there was something we could do, but just waiting for it to happen makes me feel so useless._

At least they had a long and gruelling race in front of them. That would definitely take their mind off things for the next couple of hours.

_And I’ve made it through a whole race weekend without any glitches._

Jo got into his car, the snap of his visor closing like an off switch for his mind.

The race start was chaos, and he dodged the debris that was scattered everywhere, A few laps behind the safety car gave him a minute to collect his thoughts, and he took a breath, every atom in his body ready to go.

Infinity stretched out in front of him and he saw it all, every possibility branching out into the future, and beyond.

He was no longer in control of his body, his mind struggling to keep up with the multiple universes unfolding simultaneously around him. Jo screamed, a piercing shriek, but he heard nothing more than a gasp, sound distorting to the point that his own mind couldn’t recognise his voice.

The panic made way to acceptance, and he tried to call out to Hazel, hoping that she could save him, but he got nothing.

Two hours had never felt so long, and by the time the chequered flag was waving, he felt like he’d pulled an all-nighter to study and then gone on to race the next day, all while in a sauna.

_Of all the races for this to happen, it would be the one where the heat is so high a few drivers always end up treated for severe dehydration._

He crossed the line first, and sixth, and a lap down in last, and while sitting in the garage after retiring.

His brain ached with the four sets of memories, and he tried to focus on just one timeline, but it was no use.

_They all exist._

_But what are the odds that the universe I’m in isn’t the one where I’m standing on the top step of the podium?_

Jo snorted in laughter as he sat in a cool room, the universes flickering together like a glitch in a video game correcting itself.

Sixth.

Given the way life had been going for him, he’d take that.


	18. Slipping

Nico knowing about the end of the universe had brought them closer, every spare second spent together, savouring each moment.

Jo watched as he lay out on the sofa, Esteban the rabbit cuddled into his chest, a single tear streaming down his cheek. He wished there was something that he could do to comfort him, reassure him that it would all be okay.

But they were running out of time.

Hazel jumped on to the sofa, scrabbling over Nico’s legs so that she could sit next to Esteban.

“They’re cute.” Nico’s voice trembled, and Jo glared at the oven, willing it to cook the pizzas faster.

“You are not bad looking for a human.” Hazel nudged Nico’s hand, demanding attention.

“She says you’re not bad looking for a human.” Jo snorted in laughter, still lurking in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

“I heard her.” Nico stroked Hazel as she snuggled in, looking proud of herself.

_What?_

“When I shared memories with him it opened his mind to the infinite possibilities.”

“Cool.” Jo folded his arms, his foot tapping as he felt the seconds slipping away, time lost forever.

A high pitched beeping noise made them all freeze in fright, and it took Jo a second to realise what it was. The oven timer, screeching at him to come and take the food out.

Ever since his little shopping trip with Hazel, he’d been wary of bringing meat into the house, worried that she would decide that humans weren’t worth saving, and leave the universe to be destroyed with them in it.

He just hoped Nico was hungry enough not to notice.

The rabbits scurried over to Jo as he carried the food through to the living room, Nico finally smiling as the smell of warm pizza wafted over to him.

Nico stole a slice before the plate was even on the table, and the rabbits both stood up so that they could see what it was.

“It’s not for rabbits.” Jo smiled, wandering back through to the kitchen to chop up a carrot for them. The sound of the knife had them rushing through to join him, and he slid the slices into their food bowl, leaving them munching away as though they’d never been fed.

Nico had devoured half of the pizza when Jo returned, and he felt honoured that Nico had left him some.

“Have more, I’m not that hungry.”

“You need to eat.” Nico rolled up a slice, smiling as he waited for Jo to open his mouth.

The first bite was like heaven, made even better by Nico feeding him, and he let out a satisfied groan.

_This is all I want for the rest of my life._

_All sixty-two days of it._

Tears streamed down Jo’s cheeks, and Nico’s lip trembled, his hands shaking as he rushed in for a hug.

“I’m sorry.” Jo buried his head against Nico’s shoulder, his hoodie soft and comforting, reminding of him Hazel and Esteban’s fluffy fur.

“No matter what happens, I’ll be here by your side.” Nico sniffed, his tears dripping down on to Jo’s neck as they clung to each other.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

They had been inseparable, and people in the garage were starting to whisper, but neither of them cared.

Nico had spent every night in Jo’s room, but sleep didn’t come easy. The lights were flickering in unpredictable ways, colours distorted as though someone had changed the contrast for the whole universe.

“I told my parents that I loved them, and they asked me what was wrong.” Nico snorted in laughter, shivering in the cool breeze of the air-conditioning, goose bumps rippling over his skin.

Jo hugged him tighter, surrounding him with warmth, pulling the duvet up around them as though it was a shield from the world.

He thought about saying that it would all be okay, but it was a meaningless mantra now.

“I don’t know how Will’s coping with this all.” Jo sniffed, tears bubbling up from nowhere.

“He’s on a mission to save the universe, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for wallowing.”

“I wish there was something more I could do.”

“You saved Hazel, and Esteban.” Nico smiled, looking up at Jo, his blue eyes like tropical waters next to a white sand beach.

“I know, but the fact that even she doesn’t know what’s happening to our universe doesn’t fill me with confidence.”

“Maybe it won’t happen?” Nico’s eyes were wide with hope, and Jo wished that he could believe that.

But he’d seen too much for it not to be true.

***

Jo wanted to groan out loud, for all the good it would do him. He wasn’t sure that he could take another question about his future without dissolving into hysterical laughter.

He’d lost track of how many journalists he’d spoken to today, and he was staring into space, waiting for the next one when he felt a stabbing pain behind his eyes.

Everything went white, a breeze rippling across his exposed skin, and he blinked a few times, his body adjusting to the feeling of being filled to the hilt with Nico’s glorious cock while he straddled him.

Jo’s vision cleared, revealing a generic hotel room, and Nico was stroking the side of his face, worry clear in his eyes.

_Have I lost time again? But this doesn’t look like Malaysia?_

_I’m back in Italy._

“Too much?” Nico started to withdraw but Jo pushed back until their bodies were pressed together.

“No, it’s perfect, just like you.” Jo grinned as Nico held his hips, encouraging him to move. He started to rock his hips, focusing only on the moment, letting out all his frustrations as he rode Nico with wild abandon.

“Harder.” Jo angled his body so that Nico nudged that spot, making him cry out in pleasure. “More.”

Nico sat up, slamming their bodies together, and Jo arched his back so that his cock rubbed up against Nico’s toned abs, seeking out more friction as he rushed towards his climax, his teeth grazing over Nico’s shoulder.

Tears rolled down Jo’s cheeks, the intensity of it all was overwhelming, Nico ravaging him as he savoured every second, aware that this time could be the last time.

Their sweaty bodies moved as one, Nico’s big hands holding him tight as the bed rocked with the sheer force of their love making. Warmth spread through his muscles, and he clung to Nico, his body screaming for its release.

Jo sucked a bruise into Nico’s shoulder, his fingernails scraping over his back as his orgasm washed over him, his body stretched to its very limits by Nico’s perfect cock. Nico was grunting and gasping, his cock shuddering and pulsing inside him, prolonging Jo’s orgasm as he clenched around him.

Nico rested his forehead against Jo’s, showering him with tiny kisses as he caught his breath, the smell of sex surrounding them.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jo felt a stabbing pain behind his right eye, and he wrapped his arms around Nico, hoping that he could stay in this moment forever.

Someone rested their hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see that he was back in the media pen in Malaysia, the heat stifling compared to the cool air-conditioned hotel room.

“Are you okay?” The assistant had pity in her eyes, and Jo nodded, forcing a smile on to his face.

_I don’t know what okay is any more._


	19. Rabbit Island

Jo sat in his hotel room, his dad talking about all the options for his future, but he wasn’t listening.

“Renault want to make a deal.” His dad slid a piece of paper over to him, and Jo stared at it without reading. “I really think this is the best way, we can use the money for an Indy Car seat next year.”

Jo sniffed, the lump in his throat growing as he tried to keep his face neutral.

_I wanted to race until the end, but I don’t want to upset you, and a little bit more time at home would be a good thing right now, let me support Will._

“Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for doing all this for me, dad. I really appreciate it.” Jo compressed his lips, his hands trembling as he handed the papers back to his dad.

“I know it doesn’t feel good now, but it’ll be worth it when you’re racing next year.”

_Next year._

***

Jo had spent the day feeling like he could float away at any second, shuffling everywhere because of the weights he’d stuffed in his shoes just so that he could keep his feet on the ground.

He had wanted to tell Nico what was going on, but he hadn’t got a minute alone with him, and the waiting felt like torture to him.

He was going to announce it after qualifying.

This was his last race in F1, Carlos was going to be taking his seat for the rest of the races.

He was almost glad that time kept glitching, sparing him from having to deal with it all, but it left him looking even more dazed and confused than usual.

After qualifying was over, he posted his announcement on social media, and then it all went black.

*

Someone licked Jo’s cheek, and he woke with a jolt. It was dark, and he was lying naked on the soft grass, surrounded by hundreds of rabbits.

“Hazel?”

“The human is awake.” A fawn rabbit came up to see him, inspecting his hand to see if he had any food before accepting strokes.

“I’m awake. How did I get here?”

The rabbits all backed away, confused at the fact that Jo appeared to be speaking to them.

“How can you understand us?”

“I have access to your technology.”

The hiss of a hundred rabbits gasping in shock sent a shiver down his spine.

The fawn rabbit stepped closer, clearly they were the leader of these rabbits, and Jo sat up slowly, unsure of where he was.

“How?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Look human, all I need to know is where you got our technology from. It’s way beyond your comprehension.”

“A rabbit called, well, I can’t say her real name, but I call her Hazel, she’s helping me stop the universe being destroyed.”

“Universes come and go, it is the natural way, the way it has always been.”

Jo rolled his eyes, wondering if this stuff was taught to little rabbits, the way little humans were taught the alphabet.

“I know, when one universe collapses, another is formed in its place, so that there’s a balance of energy.”

“Exactly.” The fawn rabbit flicked their whiskers in an ‘I told you so’ kind of gesture.

“Except this universe isn’t collapsing, there’s glitches in the very forces that hold it all together.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, I’m not smart, my brother is the clever one, and the rabbit friend I told you about, she would be able to explain it.”

_Hazel, please, if you’re there, come speak to your rabbit friends, make them understand._

Jo felt the pain behind his eyes, the migraine that meant Hazel was hijacking his mind. He curled up in a ball as his vision went white, and then it all faded away.

He gasped as he woke up, the pain ebbing away as the rabbits huddled together in a group a couple of metres away from him.

“Did you talk to Hazel?”

“Yes, she told us everything, but she does not know why these glitches are occurring.”

“Do you know?”

“I do not. I am sorry, human. I have existed since before the start of time itself, and I have never seen a universe break apart before.” The fawn rabbit rushed up to Jo, nuzzling against his hand as he petted them.

Jo felt hopeless, condemned to watch the universe and everything in it be destroyed right in front his eyes. Sensing his pain, the rabbits piled in, surrounding him with their furry bodies.

He caught a glimpse of his watch, the strap chewed and gnawed, and that was when he saw the time.

Quarter to midnight.

_Fuck._

“Where am I?” Jo looked at the fawn rabbit, pleading for answers.

“In your human dialect, they call it ‘Rabbit Island’.”

“Do you know how far it is to Suzuka?”

“We do not exp-“

“You don’t experience dimensions the way that my simple human brain does, I know.”

“Sorry, human.”

A breeze rustled the trees, scattering leaves as Jo shivered, goose bumps covering his exposed skin.

“Where are my clothes?”

“The youngers took them.” The fawn rabbit nodded over to where the baby rabbits were playing with scraps of bright yellow cloth, and Jo nodded, there wasn’t even enough left to avoid being charged with indecent exposure.

“Have you seen my phone?”

The fawn rabbit stared at him with a blank expression, and Jo grappled for an explanation that a rabbit would understand.

In the end, he thought very hard about his mobile phone, and the fawn rabbit scurried off, returning with his phone between his teeth.

_Please let it have enough charge left that I can make a phone call._

_But who can I call?_

He didn’t want to worry his dad, and he was sure that Martin, although he was like an uncle to him, would probably think that it was a prank. So that just left Nico.

The phone was charged, and it had a signal, which was a miracle in its own right. He found Nico’s number and pressed call, hoping that he would answer.

Nico picked up before the first ring had even finished, and Jo breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the gods that didn’t exist for his good fortune.

“Hey, we’ve been looking for you all evening. Where are you?”

“Rabbit Island.”

Nico laughed, but it faded when he realised that Jo wasn’t laughing with him.

“How did you get there?”

Jo could hear the worry in his voice, and he wished that he was by his side, not that it would change anything, but a hug would have been nice.

“I don’t know, last thing I remember I was leaving the track, and then I woke up here. Naked.”

Nico snorted in laughter, and Jo let out a sigh. “Sorry, it’s just all so surreal.”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jo shivered, wondering if his weekend could get any worse. “Please come get me, and bring clothes.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Six hours later the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and Jo had a sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to make the race in time.

The fawn rabbit led him to a small marina, and the other rabbits had followed, moving as a swarm of fur and whiskers. Jo almost felt like he was one of them, a six foot almost hairless rabbit, wondering what he could do to stop the destruction of the universe.

He accepted the comfort from his new friends, petting them as the sound of an engine rumbled closer, and a boat appeared in the distance.

Relief flooded through his veins when he realised it was Nico, and he glanced around, checking that there were no other humans about before rushing down to the small pier.

“I think I’ve broken quite a few speed limits, and I had to beg to borrow a boat so that I could get here.”

Nico smiled, leaning in for a kiss as Jo wrapped himself up in his arms.

“Thank you.”

“Get in the boat, we’re going to have to rush to get back before anyone notices that you’re gone.”

Jo looked at the fawn rabbit, his friends behind him all standing on their hind legs. “Thank you, friend.”

“You are welcome, human.” The fawn rabbit nodded, before scurrying away towards the forest.

Jo hopped into the boat, it was the kind of flashy speedboat that was everywhere during the Monaco race weekend, and Nico dragged his eyes over him.

“We don’t have time for that.” Jo wondered if it was really worth showing up for the race, and if it would make any difference in the long run.

“You’re right.” Nico grinned as he twisted the ignition, the engine roaring into life, his blond hair swaying in the wind. “There’s clothes in that gym bag.”

Jo sat back, his legs spread wide, letting everything hang free as the boat rushed towards the mainland. Nico glanced back, winking at Jo.

_This should be our honeymoon, you playing captain, me sunbathing naked as the salty sea air surrounds us. We’d make love out on the water, and sleep under the stars._

_I guess that ship has sailed._

His thoughts wiped the smile off his face, and he found out the clothes that Nico had left for him. Obscenely bright boxers, stripy socks, a pair of jeans that were a little big but would do the job, and a t-shirt so vile that Jo blinked to check that it wasn’t just a trick of the light.

“This should be thrown into the sea.” Jo held up the offending t-shirt, with what looked like the aftermath of an orgy displayed on it.

“I was worried about you, so I just grabbed my gym bag and hoped there was enough clothes in there for you.”

“Thank you, for coming to get me.”

“It’s you and me all the way until the end of the world.” Nico laughed manically, and Jo wandered over, wrapping his arms around Nico, grinning like an idiot as he clung on to the only person that was keeping him grounded through all this.

Jo slept for the entire car journey back to the track, Hazel hijacking his body had been draining, and he’d spent the night explaining the situation to his new rabbit friends, which was a different kind of exhausting.

They made it to the track at about the time they were meant to, and no-one said a word about Jo’s inside out t-shirt. Somehow it made the pitying looks more bearable.

Jo rushed against the clock to get into his team gear before the drivers’ parade, and he grinned when Nico slipped into his room, even though he hadn’t slept, he still looked fresh and alert.

“I bet you’re glad not to be wearing that t-shirt anymore.”

“Definitely.” Jo stuck his tongue out, and Nico leant in for a kiss, tender at first, but then he paused, his face scrunched up as he pulled a rabbit hair off his tongue.

“Sorry, rabbit fur gets everywhere.”

Nico laughed, and Jo rushed in for one last kiss, leaving them both grinning like idiots.

“No matter what happens today, I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	20. Intruders

Jo stood in his parents’ kitchen, Hazel scurrying around his feet as Esteban followed, both of them exploring their new surroundings.

The sound of Will bounding down the stairs made him feel like a kid again, and Will burst into the room, freezing in his tracks when he saw Hazel.

“Do you know what’s happening? Do you have a solution?”

“I do not. Sorry, human.”

“Emily wasn’t able to look after them, she’s away up to Durham for work.”

“Why are you here then?”

“Nice to see you too, little bro.” Jo smiled, holding his arms out for a hug. He’d never been much of a hugger before all this, but now, he’d take all the hugs that he could get.

“Sorry, I’m just so tired.”

“I know.” Jo gave him a squeeze, making him smile. “Cup of tea? Toast?”

_I’ve only got one job right now, and that’s looking after you, and Hazel._

“Thanks, bro.” Will took a seat on the floor as Hazel rushed over to him, nudging him until he petted her.

“This human is an ally.” Hazel snuggled in to Will as Esteban crept closer, sniffing at Will’s stripy socks before hopping up to where Hazel was being petted.

Jo watched it all in fascination as he made Will’s breakfast, pouring him a glass of orange juice which he sat on the floor next to him.

“Thanks.”

The rabbits didn’t move until the toast appeared, which they both wanted to sniff, and Will admitted defeat, standing up so that he could eat in peace.

“No food is safe from them.” Jo snorted in laughter as Hazel tried to stretch up to the counter, before getting bored and wandering round to where Jo had left a few Brussels sprouts for her and Esteban.

The silence rushed in to fill the void, there was so much going on, and yet Jo didn’t want to talk about any of it.

“Another cup of tea?”

Will nodded, and Jo reached for the kettle, glad for the distraction from his thoughts.

He was on autopilot as he wandered through to the living room, Will following without a word, and the rabbits scurried after them.

Hazel hopped up on to the sofa, and Jo was about to say something, but a few rabbit hairs on the furniture was the least of his worries right now.

Grabbing the remote control, he flicked through the channels until he saw something that made him freeze.

Carlos in a Renault t-shirt.

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Will dunked his biscuit in his tea, as Esteban crawled on to his lap, lured by the sweet smell.

“You know none of it matters now.”

Will bit his lip, raising an eyebrow as he held out his empty hand to show the rabbits that the biscuit was gone.

Esteban sniffed his hand, licking away the last few crumbs, and a flicker of a smile crossed Will’s face.

“If nothing matters, then we could watch something else.”

“Has Pierre dyed his hair blond?”

“No. It’s Brendon Hartley.”

Jo squinted at the screen, the picture flickering as though the satellite signal was being disrupted.

The image morphed between Pierre and Brendon, leaving Jo confused.

Hazel nuzzled against his hand, and Jo felt calmer, but then she spoke. “The timeline is unstable, human.”

“What does that mean?”

“Bits of other universes are bleeding through into this one.” Will reached out for another biscuit, the universe ending meant that he didn’t have to worry about his weight.

“I’m sorry.”

_I’m sorry that the universe is ending. I’m sorry that there’s nothing I can do to help. I’m sorry that you will never have a chance to race in F1._

A tear ran down his cheek, and the rabbits rushed over to lick it away.

*

A good cry and two cups of tea later, Jo was lying out in bed, his laptop next to him as he tried to work out the time difference, before hitting the call button anyway.

“Hi.” Nico smiled, blowing a kiss at the screen, but Jo could see that it was an act.

“I miss you.” Jo reached out, his lip trembling.

Nico sniffed, wiping away a tear as he shook his head. “No point crying over the end of the universe.”

Jo snorted in laughter, it was either that or cry, and with thirty-seven days to go, he didn’t want to waste any more time crying.

“I wish I was there.” Jo pulled his jumper up, arching his back as he unzipped his jeans. “A blow job and a cup of tea would take your mind off it all.”

“I love you.” Nico disappeared from the screen, and the sound of clothes rustling put a smile on Jo’s face.

“I love you too.” Jo bit his lip as he pulled out his cock, giving himself a couple of strokes.

“What would you do to me if you were here?” Nico smirked, adjusting the camera angle so that Jo could see him in all his glory.

“I’d kiss you until you were breathless, and then I’d tear your shirt open.”

Nico growled and Jo grinned, watching as Nico started to stroke himself, his muscles rippling as he writhed on the bed, moaning and gasping like a porn star.

“And then I’d push you on to the bed and ride you until you can’t remember your name.”

Nico let out a low moan, his hand moving faster as Jo matched his pace.

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” Jo gasped, coming with a jolt, and he forced himself to keep his eyes open so that he could see the look of bliss on Nico’s face as he came.

Hazel hopped on to the bed, and Jo froze for a second, Nico still gasping and moaning as he gave himself a few last strokes.

“Human, there is an intruder in this universe.”

Jo sighed, and Hazel glared at him, unbothered by the fact that he had his cock in his hand, still sticky and dribbling come.

“Intruder?”

“I could not wake your brother.”

Jo shrugged at the camera, and Nico nodded, still breathless from his climax.

“Go save the universe.” Nico laughed, his body jerking as though he was coming again.

“I’ll chat to you later, love you.” Jo rushed to tuck himself away, wiping his hand on his jeans as he followed Hazel, her little rabbit legs flicking as she hopped towards the living room.

Will was asleep on the sofa, oblivious to the fact that Esteban was tugging on his jumper, trying to rouse him.

“Will, wake up.” Jo felt a stab of guilt when he saw the panic in Will’s bloodshot eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s something happening. We need your help with the thing that you made.”

“The hyperspace oscilloscope.” Hazel nipped at Will’s hand, pushing him into action as he sprinted to his room.

Jo wandered after them, he was no use when it came to all that stuff, and Esteban walked alongside him, creeping along the unfamiliar hallway, his red eyes scanning for any sign of danger.

Will’s desk was covered in components and other miscellaneous sciencey things.

The hyperspace oscilloscope was flickering away, although Jo had no idea whether that was good or bad.

“What’s happening?” Jo sat cross-legged on the bed, Esteban crawling in the gap so that he could be petted while Will and Hazel studied the signals.

“This should not be here, human.” Hazel rested a single whisker against the screen, pointing out a single blip that wasn’t connect to any line.

“Is that the intruder?” Jo peered at the screen, but it might as well have been a magic eye picture for all the sense it made to him.

“Whatever they are, they shouldn’t be in this universe.” Will tapped at the screen before grinning manically. He opened the top drawer of his desk, and pulled out a can of Red Bull, chugging it all in one go before burping so loudly that both the rabbits froze in fright.

“Can you find them? Are they what’s causing the universe to fall apart?”

“Yes, and probably not.”

“Universes do not fall apart, there is a balance of energy, even when energy is transferred from one universe to another.” Hazel bobbed her head, judging the distance before hopping on to the chair so that she could watch Will work.

There was nothing Jo could do to help, so he went to make a cup of tea, leaving Esteban stretched out on the bed, napping after a long day of travelling.

_I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since I met Hazel._

Jo returned to see Will grinning, he looked so proud of himself as he frantically typed something into his phone.

“You’ll never guess where the intruder is…?”

“Where?”

“Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas.”

“What?”

*

Nico lay gasping on the bed, and for a blissful moment his mind was clear, filled with nothing but love and lust.

And then Hazel appeared, bursting his bubble.

“Go save the universe.”

“I’ll chat to you later, love you.”

The call disconnected as Nico muttered the words, “I love you too.”

_I hope I haven’t missed my last chance to tell you that._

Nico stumbled off the bed, rubbing at his eye, only to realise that his fingers were still sticky.

He slinked into the shower, the cool water rushing around him, running up the tiles as he rested his head on them.

The universe falling apart he could deal with, he lived life one moment to the next, never really thinking about the future. But being apart from Jo, when all he wanted was one last hug, one last kiss, that felt like torture.

All the hairs on his body stood on end, his skin tingling, and he turned the temperature up, but he still had a strange feeling of unease. He switched the water off, but the swirling sound remained, like waves crashing against rocks.

Grabbing a towel, he crept out of the bathroom, unsure of what to expect.

_Nothing could surprise me anymore._

And then he saw someone who looked like Dany stepping out of a portal in the middle of his hotel room.

“I’m here to save the universe?” Alt-Dany glanced over his shoulder as Stoffel appeared from the portal, and Nico stood blinking, unsure of what to say to that.

“I think you need to talk to the rabbit.”

Alt-Dany titled his head, and Nico knew that he sounded crazy.

“Rabbit?”

“Hazel. She’s trying to save the universe too.” Nico waved his hands as he talked, aware that it wasn’t making him look any saner, but it helped him assembled his thoughts. “And Will Palmer’s helping.”

“Jo’s little brother?” Alt-Dany peered at Nico, the wrinkles around his eyes making him look older.

“Yeah.” Nico nodded, there was nothing he could say that made this situation sound any less strange.

“Where is he?”

“In England.”

“Where’s Jo?” Alt-Dany rummaged through his pockets for something, pulling out what looked like random components and a small bundle of wires.

“Also at home in England.”

“Why isn’t he here racing?”

“Carlos took his seat.”

“Oh.” Alt-Dany looked confused, and Nico wasn’t sure what to make of that.

_If this Dany can travel between universes, he must know that they’re all different._

“Where is your version of me?” Alt-Dany asked, and Nico frowned as he made sense of the question.

“He’s around here somewhere, I can call him for you.”

“Good, get him to come here.”

Nico clutched his towel as he turned round to grab his phone off the bedside table, and when he bent down, someone whistled.

“Enjoying the view?” Nico winked at Alt-Dany as he shrugged, and Stoffel blushed. “Dany’s on his way, he’s at the track still so it’s going to be twenty minutes before he gets here.”

“Okay.”

“Make yourselves comfy.” Nico gestured to the two seats in the corner of the room, before dropping his towel, not caring that he had an audience.

He rushed to sling on a pair of jeans and a hoodie, checking his phone before stuffing it into his pocket, and he sat down on the edge of the bed, tapping his foot as he waited for Dany to show up.

An awkward silence stretched out to fill the time, and by the time that Dany knocked on the door, Nico was glad for the distraction, bolting up off the bed.

“Hi.” Nico stared at Dany, if he hadn’t spent the last fifteen minutes staring at his alternate he would have sworn they were identical, and yet there was a deep sadness in his eyes.

“What’s happened?” Dany’s eyes scanned Nico’s face, trying to read his emotions.

“Come in.” Nico stood back so that Dany could get past, glad that his alternate wasn’t visible from the doorway as he had no idea how Dany would react to it.

_Please don’t start screaming, I don’t want hotel security to see this. There may not be long left but I’d like to spend what little time there is as a free man._

“What are you doing here?” Dany sounded irritated more than anything else, and Nico darted through to see Dany with his arms folded, staring at his alternate.

“I came to help you save the universe.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet.” Alt-Dany shrugged, and Dany clenched his fists.

“Do you know what’s happening to this universe?”

“No. But Nico said that Will Palmer can help us.”

“Well…” Nico shuffled on the spot, unsure of how to explain it all.

“Let’s go then.” Dany patted his pockets, the outline of his phone and wallet clear through his skinny jeans.

Stoffel reached out for Alt-Dany’s hand, their fingers intertwined, and something metallic glinted in the light.

“You two are together?” Dany pointed at them, confusion written all over his face as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“It’s a long story.” Alt-Dany pulled Stoffel a little closer, his eyes lighting up when their gaze met, and Stoffel was every bit as smitten. “And we have a universe to save.”

Nico snorted in laughter, for all that he said in interviews that he’d like to be a spy saving the world, the reality was very different, and right now he’d have given anything to have his nice stable life back.

“Do you have a screwdriver?” Alt-Dany looked at Stoffel, and he pulled out a little penknife, one that had several attachments, including both types of screwdrivers.

Alt-Dany rushed over to the desk, shoving the menus and other clutter that hotels always left there out of the way. He was holding what looked like a small metal tube, and it opened lengthways, revealing that it was filled with wires and circuit boards unlike anything Nico had ever seen before.

“What is that?” Nico peered over Alt-Dany’s shoulder, his breath tickling his neck, and Stoffel pulled Nico back, giving Alt-Dany some space to work.

“It’s a portal generator. It generates portals.” Stoffel smiled, shaking his head at how strange it all sounded.

“I need to reconfigure it so that I can teleport us within in this universe.”

“You can do that?” Nico stared, his mouth hanging open as he watched Alt-Dany work.

_Every time I think that I understand the universe, it surprises me._

“Done.” Alt-Dany snapped the portal generator closed, and he held out his hand.

“Stay here, make sure that no-one realises Nico is missing, okay?” Alt-Dany smiled at Dany, and Dany didn’t look impressed.

“Why can’t I come?” Dany exhaled, and it reminded Nico of when Hazel was huffy.

“Because I don’t know what will happen when two near-identical beings travel through a portal.”

“Fine.” Dany sat down on the bed, his arms folded as he pulled a book out of his jacket pocket.

Alt-Dany looked at Nico with a grin on his face. “You’re going to want to hold on tight.”

Nico nodded, his heart pounding and his palms clammy as Alt-Dany and Stoffel both looked excited.

_What have I got myself into?_

*

“You can’t come to Austin.”

“Why not, human?” Hazel sat in his lap, and Jo sighed, he knew he wasn’t the smartest guy, but lately he’d lost a lot of arguments with a rabbit.

“Because you’re a rabbit and rabbits aren’t allowed on planes.” Laughter bubbled over at the idea of smuggling a rabbit through customs, but knowing his luck he’d end up in jail.

“I’ll go,” Will said, shoving various electrical components into a rucksack, “You stay here and then I can talk to Hazel without her taking over my mind.”

“Good thinking, human.”

Will nodded, turning to leave, but static electricity crackled in the air, arcing out to zap his watch.

“Fuck.”

“What’s going on?” Jo looked at Will but he was too busy searching through his bag, yanking out the hyperspace oscilloscope and connecting it up to various components.

_Is this the end of the universe? It’s too early._

“I thought we had more time?” Jo looked at Hazel who was bobbing her head, scanning the room as the wind rushed around them.

Blue and purple swirls distorted the room, and for a split-second Jo saw a glimpse of another universe, one similar to his and yet the differences were jarring.

“The intruders are here.” Hazel twitched her whiskers in the direction of the portal, and Jo moved so that Esteban could hide behind him, Hazel cowering in his lap as he used his arm to shield her.

Will was on the other side of the room, staring at the wibbly lines on the screen, oblivious to the portal swirling behind him.

Jo tensed, preparing for a fight as his heart pounded. And then a familiar face stepped out of the portal.

“Nico?”

Jo put Hazel down on the bed before rushing over to him, his eyes staring into the distance as he blinked, and Jo rested his hand on Nico’s shoulder, waiting for him to speak as Alt-Dany and Stoffel tumbled through the portal behind him.

“I missed you.” Nico leant in for a kiss, the wind from the portal ruffling his blond locks, still damp from the shower. Jo savoured the feeling of his lips, every kiss felt like a last kiss now, and he wanted to go out with no regrets.

“I missed you too.”

“You two are together?” Stoffel raised an eyebrow as Jo looked over to see Alt-Dany watching Will with fascination.

“Yeah, have been for nearly six months.” Jo did a little bit of mental arithmetic and came up with a worrying answer. “Fuck, it was six months on Monday.”

“I…” Nico didn’t have to finish the sentence, Jo knew exactly what he was thinking.

“You two can make up for it once we’ve saved the universe.” Alt-Dany snorted in laughter as Hazel glared at him, her back legs tensing, and she thumped with such force that Alt-Dany jumped.

“Do you know how to save a universe, human?”

“Did the rabbit just talk?” Alt-Dany glanced around, looking at Stoffel who was staring at Hazel with his eyes wide.

“Yes,” Will said, “The rabbit talks. She is in fact a multi-dimensional being in the body of a rabbit, and she’s our best hope of saving the universe.”

“How do you know she’s not the one destroying it?”

Everyone in the room froze, all looking at each other, waiting for someone to speak, and in the end Jo was the first to crack. The sound of the seconds ticking away echoed in his ears, and he needed it to stop.

“She is the one that told us about the glitches in the universe.”

“I worked it out first.” Will sounded proud of himself, and it was an amazing achievement, but finding out that the universe was being destroyed wasn’t really something to brag about.

“When did the rabbits tell you?” Jo couldn’t shake the ominous feeling, why hadn’t he considered that other rabbits could be plotting against Hazel, and them.

“I intercepted their communications, and I tracked it to the rabbits in the woods.” Will shrugged, like this was all normal. Although the word normal had a very different meaning to them now.

“Were they talking about destroying the universe?” Alt-Dany flinched as Hazel hopped towards him, stumbling backwards over Will’s shoes that were neatly sat by the wardrobe. Even with all that was going on, Will had clung to his routine, which included keeping his room tidy and organised.

“No, they were talking about irregularities in the forces that were holding this universe together.” Will shuffled Alt-Dany out of the way so that he could take a box out of the wardrobe, Stoffel sitting down on the floor next to Alt-Dany.

“Could other rabbits be planning to destroy the universe?” Alt-Dany reached out to hold Stoffel’s hand as Hazel crept closer, sniffing at the portal generator in his other hand.

“How did you get this technology? It is way beyond your comprehension, human.”

Jo snorted in laughter as Hazel turned an ear to face him, before running her chin over the portal generator.

“I made it.” Alt-Dany looked proud of himself, but Hazel didn’t look impressed. She was sat in the middle of the floor, her ears flicking between the five humans, her whole body on alert.

“How did you balance the energy between universes?” She flicked her whiskers in an accusatory way, and even though she was the smallest creature in the room, she was in control of the situation.

“How did I do what?” Alt-Dany’s brow furrowed, and Jo had a sinking feeling.

“The transfer of energy has to be balanced, human.” The word human sounded like an insult when directed at Alt-Dany, and Jo compressed his lips, wondering where Hazel was going with this.

“What if it isn’t balanced?” Nico asked, holding his hands up when Hazel turned to stare at him.

“If the energy is not balanced, the universes will balance themselves, but that is unpredictable.” Hazel stood on her hind legs so that she could look Alt-Dany in the eyes, and his face said it all.

“That explains why things were always going wrong.” Alt-Dany’s eyes darted back and forth, and Jo could see the horror creeping on to his face, his eyes wide as he clung to Stoffel’s hand. “Oh god, did I cause the destruction of this universe?”

“No. Universes come and go, it is the natural way, the way it has always been.” Hazel hopped over to Will, nuzzling against his hand as his frustration grew.

“Yes, yes, we all know how it should be.” Will sighed, slumping down against the wall as the hyperspace oscilloscope flickered, and he sat with his legs tucked up against his chest, rocking back and forth. “But that’s not what’s happening here, this universe is literally falling apart at the seams.”

“What?” Alt-Dany peered over Will’s shoulder, looking at the squiggly lines that made the universe falling apart look nice and tidy.

“You two should go home, before this universe is too unstable for you to leave.” Hazel nudged Alt-Dany with her nose, but he didn’t move.

“No, maybe I can help stop whatever’s happening.” Alt-Dany paused for a second, looking at Stoffel with his lips compressed, and he waited for Stoffel to nod before continuing. “What is happening in this universe?”

Jo sighed, even with one of the smartest beings in the universe in the room, they still had no idea what was happening.

“The very forces that hold this universe together, have glitches in them.” Will thumped the side of the hyperspace oscilloscope, waiting for the lines to become clear again before showing them to Alt-Dany.

“Can’t you stop it?” Alt-Dany asked Hazel, and she looked like she was going to bite him.

“Human, if I knew how to stop this, it would be fixed already.” Hazel let out a huffy snort before hopping back over to Jo, nuzzling against his hand as she waited for him to pet her.

“Best guess,” Will said, scratching the back of his neck, “We would have to trigger a big bang style event, and hope that it resets the universe.”

“You cannot just create a big bang, human.” Hazel flicked her paws, cleaning her face as everyone watched her, waiting for her to speak again.

“The thing could?” Nico clicked his fingers as he tried to remember the word, but it kept slipping through the cracks in his memory. “When they switched it on people said the world was going to end.”

“The Large Hadron Collider at CERN?” Will looked thoughtful for a second, grabbing a pad of paper from his desk as he started scribbling down formula that looked alien to Jo.

Hazel left Will to it, hopping over to the bed so that she could check on Esteban, who was dozing peacefully while the humans talked about the fate of the universe.

“I could transport us there?” Alt-Dany waved the portal generator, smiling like a kid with a shiny new toy.

“Do you know how to work a Large Hadron Collider?” Jo asked, he had no idea what it did, not really, and he didn’t have the faintest idea as to how to use it.

“No, but the scientists there will.” Alt-Dany opened the portal generator, holding his hand out for a screwdriver that Stoffel passed him without a word.

“How would you get them to cooperate?” Jo had a sinking feeling that he knew the answer, although if it meant saving the universe, he’d do it.

“A gun?” Alt-Dany frowned, and Stoffel compressed his lips, squeezing his hand.

“That’s your plan? Take them hostage?” Will shook his head. “We’d be shot before we even figured out how to make the thing work.”

“It is not powerful enough, you would need a device that does not exist yet on Earth.” Hazel flicked her whiskers, and Will sat the paper down, his head hung low.

“If it doesn’t exist on Earth, does it exist elsewhere in this universe?” Will’s eyes were wide, pleading with Hazel to give him good news.

“I am afraid not. Sorry, human.”

“Fuck.” Will let out a breath, the air rushing through his pursed lips as Hazel twitched her ears in the breeze.

“There was only a one to the power of negative eighty-nine chance that it would have produced a black hole.” Hazel hopped over to Will, clambering on to his lap so that she could lick away the tear that rolled down his cheek.

“If there’s a chance we should take it.”

“The chance that it would have fixed the universe rather than destroying it was even smaller.” Hazel moved on to grooming Will’s eyebrows, and he smiled as her whiskers tickled his eyelids. “If there was a simple way to stop the glitches, I would have done it already.”

“I know.” Will sniffed, and Jo rushed to his side wrapping him up in his arms, Esteban having woken from his nap, hopping over so that he could join Hazel on Will’s lap.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Jo stroked Will’s back, his heart breaking as he saw something glint in the light, a plain silver band on Alt-Dany’s finger. “You two are married?”

“Engaged.” Alt-Dany smiled, nodding as he held his hand out so that Jo could admire the ring. Jo kept one arm wrapped around Will, sitting awkwardly next to him on the floor, the rabbits both clamouring for attention as Will relaxed. “I was going to come alone, but with… the glitches, Stoffel wanted to come with me, and-“

“And I’d been thinking of asking for a while, I was going to wait until Christmas, but before travelling to an unstable parallel universe seemed the right time to do it.” Stoffel laughed, leaning in for a kiss as Alt-Dany grinned, a glimpse of genuine happiness.

Jo reached out his leg so that his foot was touching Nico’s. They hadn’t talked about marriage, and the way things were going, they were never going to get the chance to.

_Yet another thing that I’m going to miss out on._

“Rabbit, Hazel, what can I do to help?” Alt-Dany looked so young, he was out of his depth, and he knew it.

“Go back to your own universe, and stay there.” Hazel scurried off Will’s lap, jumping down with a flick of her feet, even though it was only a few inches, and she stood by Alt-Dany’s ankle, waiting for him to move.

“There must be something I can do.”

Hazel nipped Alt-Dany’s ankle, the only part of his skin that wasn’t covered by his jeans or his shoes. “Go. And put everything back where you found it first.”

Jo looked at Nico, he didn’t want him to go, not yet. “Give us two minutes?”

Hazel nodded as Alt-Dany rubbed at his ankle, the small red nip standing out against his pale skin.

Jo stood up, leaving Hazel and Esteban to comfort Will, and he reached out for Nico’s hand, dragging him off the floor as they wandered down the hall to his room.

“I’m going to miss you.” Jo pinned Nico against the wall, their kisses frantic as he tried to push all the worries out of his head, live in the moment.

_I want to savour every second that I have left._

Nico’s tongue darted into his mouth, seeking out Jo’s as he rushed to unbutton Jo’s jeans, freeing his hard cock and making Jo groan in pleasure.

It was frantic and rough, Nico’s hand just big enough to wrap around both their cocks as the tears started to flow. Jo rested his forehead against Nico’s, both of them smiling through the tears as they rushed towards their climax, both laughing at the strange situation that they had been thrust into.

“I love you.” Jo sniffed, Nico kissing away his tears as he caught his breath.

“Marry me?” Nico’s bright blue eyes were still damp, but his smile shone out. “If we get through this, if we can save the universe and live happily ever after, will you marry me?”

_If. Not when, if. That’s how little chance we have._

_But if we do get through this, then marrying you is the future that I want._

_The future I hope we have._

“Yes.” The kiss was slow and tender, both of them grinning like idiots, the chaos of the universe forgotten about for a blissful instant.

And then Hazel thumped, her impatience clear even though the wall.

Jo tucked himself away, Nico licking his hand clean before making sure that they were both presentable.

Nico’s grin advertised exactly what they had been up to, but from the worried looks on everyone’s face, they had been too wrapped up dealing with the end of the universe to listen to them getting off in the next room.

The atmosphere was sobering, and Jo could have cried at the sight of Will still curled up on the floor, holding Esteban in his arms, stroking his soft white fur as Alt-Dany cleared a space for the portal.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help.” Alt-Dany reached out for Nico’s hand, the portal rushing into life as the wind ruffled Hazel’s fur. “But your Dany might be able to.”

_Excellent, I’m going to have to figure out a way to ask the Dany in this universe for help without sounding crazy._

“I’ll be back after Brazil.” Nico leant in for one last kiss as Alt-Dany dragged him towards the portal, Stoffel bringing up the rear. The blue and purple lights cast strange shadows, and a shiver ran down Jo’s spine.

“I’ll be waiting for you.” Jo blew a kiss to Nico as he disappeared through the portal, his atoms scattering through the ether as Jo slumped down on the floor, Hazel rushing over to nuzzle against his hand.

“What do we do now?” Jo looked at Hazel, shaking his head as a tear ran down his cheek.

“We hope.”


	21. Scattered

Ever since the intruders had arrived, and left again, Will had been frantically searching for a solution that would stabilise their universe.

The problem was all his answers were theoretical, and there was no knowing if they would actually work. Not that it mattered, because they didn’t have time to build the ridiculously vast and complex equipment that they would need to implement them before the universe was destroyed.

But Will wasn’t going to give up, it was all that was keeping him going. That little spark of hope that there was something they could do, that would work, in the next thirty days.

He’d moved in to the flat, since his sister was still working away, not that there wasn’t space for three people, and two rabbits, in the flat.

Jo was aware that he hadn’t seen his parents in a while, but they had to be somewhere. If they had stopped existing, he would have disappeared. It was probably for the best that they didn’t see the state Will was in, tired and pale, his eyes filled with the horror of their impending doom.

The sound of a thump echoed through the house, and Jo sprinted up to Will’s room to see Hazel sitting on the desk, her back legs tensed and ready to thump again.

“Tell him that he has to go to his race this weekend.” Hazel glared at Jo, and he held his hands up as though she was holding him at gunpoint.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s better that I stay here and try to stop the universe being destroyed.”

“Too suspicious.” Hazel nipped at Will’s wrist, and he slumped down in his chair, resting his head against the desk as he let out a groan.

“Hazel’s right, it would look strange if you sat out the final round when you have a chance of being champion.” Jo stepped closer, resting his hand on Will’s shoulder as Hazel licked at the red mark she had left on his wrist.

_Let’s face it, if we haven’t figured out how to stop it by now, we’re probably not going to._

Jo knew he couldn’t say that out loud, he had to keep up the belief that they could save the universe, for Will’s sake if nothing else.

“It would do you good to get away for a few days, give you a new perspective on things.”

Will nodded, his eyes bloodshot as he reached out for a can of Red Bull, downing the last of it before scrunching up his face.

“I’ll pack your clothes and racing gear, and you pack all the gizmos that you need, okay?”

“Deal.”

***

Getting away had seemed to do Will a world of good, and although he was carrying his notebook with him everywhere, furiously scribbling down formula that Jo had no hope of understanding, he was walking around with his head held high, no longer crushed by the weight of the universe.

Alex was staying with the rabbits, and Hazel had promised to look after him. Jo didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was the other way round.

Jo hadn’t mentioned the title fight, he knew that Will didn’t need any more pressure, and with their dad flying in tomorrow, he would have more support around him.

After the qualifying session, Jo waited for Will to reappear at the garage, but there was no sign of him. He strode round to the back of the garage, hoping for some peace to call Will, but he froze when he saw Will slumped down against the wall, tears running silently down his cheeks.

Jo rushed over to him, holding him tight as the sobs grew louder.

“What’s wrong?” Jo closed his eyes, shaking his head as the lump in his throat grew. Only he could ask such a stupid question at a time like this.

He held Will until he was all cried out, keeping one eye out for anyone who might stumble across them, but there was no reason for anyone else to be back here.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jo stroked his hair, taking a breath as he fought back the tears.

“I met a cute photographer on the way back to the garage.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”

“We chatted for a while, and he’s got a wicked sense of humour.”

“Still sounds good.” Jo gave Will a nudge, and he smiled, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his race suit.

“I asked for his number, and he gave it to me,” Will paused, his smile fading, “And then he asked about meeting up once he’s finished with his coursework for the year. In December.”

_There’s not going to be a December at this rate._

“I’m sorry.” Jo felt the anger well up inside him, it was all so unfair. Why did it have to be their universe that was falling apart?

“It’s just my luck, I finally meet a nice guy, and the universe is going to end before we even have a chance to get to know each other.” Will laughed, a sound that Jo had never heard before, a laugh that contained all the sadness and pain of their situation.

“You should text him, ask him if he wants to hang out this evening.” Jo forced his voice not to waver, and he hoped his smile looked sincere. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Will nodded, and Jo handed him his phone, watching as a flicker of a smile crossed his face.

_I may not be able to stop the end of the universe, but I can make sure that our last days on Earth are as happy as possible._

*

That night, Jo tried to stay awake, he wanted to see that Will was okay after his date, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

He drifted off to sleep, visions of the world on fire plaguing him, and he screamed into the void, but it was no use.

A vision of Nico sitting around at the back of the garage flashed up, and Jo reached out to try and touch him, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t quite get there. What he was seeing was just a figment of his overactive imagination, spurred on by the fact that they hadn’t found time to talk to each other in over a day, time zones and racing schedules working against them.

“I love you.” Jo could have sworn that Nico heard him, his eyes wide as he looked around for him.

“I love you too, Jo.” Nico looked confused, the lines around his eyes emphasising the bags under them. He clearly hadn’t slept in a while, none of them had.

“I wish I was there with you.” Jo reached out until he felt like his hand was hovering over Nico’s cheek, and Nico rested his hand over his, the warmth radiating out as his skin glowed.

The sound of trees rustling in the breeze drifted around Nico, and Jo watched on, helpless as his atoms scattered like dust in the wind.

He screamed for it to stop, frantically trying to grab on to Nico, to hold him one last time, but he slipped through his fingers.

Nico was gone, his atoms returned to the stars that had created him.

Jo woke with a jolt, his throat raw from screaming as tears streamed down his cheeks. He was back in the hotel room, the tv playing quietly in the background.

_It’s just a dream, a horrible nightmare._

Jo rushed to find his phone, but the battery was dead, he’d forgotten to put it on to charge when he got in. He threw everything out of his suitcase until he found the charger, not caring about the mess he’d made.

Staring at the phone, he willed it to charge faster, his foot tapping on the floor as he waited.

_It’s all fine, he’ll be in the car right now anyway, so I couldn’t call him even if I had charged my phone._

Jo glanced around, something felt different, the air thinner, and he took a deep breath, his body dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

_Hazel? What’s going on?_

Pain seared through his mind, and he curled into a ball, clutching his head as though his hands were all that was keeping his brain from leaking out of his ears.

He gasped for air, but it made no difference, and the darkness closed in around him, filling his soul.

***

A faint beeping noise echoed in his ears, and his heart rate spiked, the sound a horrible reminder of the time that he’d spent in hospital after his accident.

His head throbbed, and the ground felt cold and unyielding beneath him.

“Will?”

_Surely he must be back by now? Unless his date went really well. I hope he’s having fun. He deserves to have some fun before…_

Jo groaned, everything always led to the same place – the end of the universe.

He blinked a couple of times as he tried to get the world to come into focus, and for a second he could have sworn that he saw whiskers out the corner of his eye. A flashing light was first thing that caught his attention, and he reached out for it, and then he realised what the beeping sound was.

Someone was calling him.

The sound distorted from a beep into a loud ring, and he felt his muscles ache as he sat up. A night sleeping on the floor hadn’t done anything to help relieve the tension in his body, and yet the thought of going to see a physio without it being for something racing related felt strange.

He answered the call with an unsteady jab of his finger, laying back down on the floor so that he could talk without sounding out of breath.

“Hi.”

“Hi, are you going to let me in?” The accent was familiar, it reminded of him of Cyril, his former team principal, but he couldn’t imagine why he’d be calling him, or standing outside his hotel room.

Jo jumped as someone knocked on his door, and he crawled to his feet, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth as he avoided looking at his reflection. He was sure that he looked every bit as bad as he felt, and he didn’t need to see it.

At least he was dressed, still wearing yesterday’s clothes.

He opened the door, and Esteban Ocon wandered in, giving Jo a worried glance as he headed for the sofa.

“We have to be at the track in less than an hour.” Esteban made himself comfy, and Jo tried to look like he knew what was going on.

_We?_

“But I need a hand with this first.” Esteban rummaged around in his bag before pulling out three small bottles of nail varnish. One clear, but the other two were a light and dark pink, a perfect match for the Force India colours. “I managed to do one hand, but the other one was too tricky to do with my left hand.”

“Sure. I just need to get a quick shower first.”

“Cool, I’ll make us coffee.”

“Thank you.” Jo rushed to the bathroom, wishing that he’d brought his phone with him, but he could text Nico once they were on their way to the track.

_How did I end up in Mexico? And why is Esteban coming to me for help painting his nails?_

The warm water shook away the tired ache from his muscles, the citrus scent of the shower gel making him feel alive, and by the time he stepped out, he felt like he could handle anything the universe could throw at him.

He was towelling off when he caught sight of a pink shirt that was discarded on the floor. A Force India shirt.

Jo held it up, and that was when he saw it. A little union jack, and his name sewn on to the pocket.

_Esteban’s my teammate? How did I end up racing for Force India?_

Goose bumps rippled over his body, and a shiver ran down his spine.

_I just need to play along with it all, and once I talk to Will and Nico, we can try and make sense of it._

_It’s not the first time something like this has happened, and I have a feeling it won’t be the last._

Jo emerged from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist, but Esteban didn’t seem bothered, so he got changed in front of him, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a Force India t-shirt.

Two cups of coffee were sitting on the table next to the sofa, and Jo instinctively reached out for the black one, hoping that it was the right one.

He wanted to groan at the fact that things had gone so wrong with the universe that he didn’t even know how he took his coffee, but he didn’t want to scare Esteban.

They sipped their coffee in silence, Esteban smiling as Jo shook the nail varnish, mesmerised by the sound of the ball bearing clinking against the glass.

“I was hoping that I’d get better at this with practice.” Esteban giggled, admiring the nails that he’d already painted, the polish uneven and splotchy. “But you’re a natural at it.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but-“ Jo glanced around before leaning in “-I went through a goth phase as a teenager.”

It had lasted all of two weeks, but at that age he did everything Alex did, including paint his nails black. Although it had come in handy a few years later when his sister fell of her horse and needed someone to do her makeup for her while her wrist healed.

Esteban smiled, taking a last sip of his coffee before sitting it down, and he lay his hands out on the table, tapping them as he waited for Jo.

It was nice to have something to take his mind off everything, even if it was only for a few minutes. But then the worries returned, plaguing his mind. He just wanted to know that Will and Nico were okay, and then he could relax, well as much as he could when he knew that the universe was collapsing with them still in it.

He wanted to ask Hazel, but he would have to wait until he was alone so that no-one would see the pain he was in when she took over his mind.

Esteban chatted away as Jo nodded, none of it going in, but Esteban seemed happy to do all the talking.

Ten minutes later they both had shiny pink nails, in colours that Jo would forever consider Force India pink, the dark stripes standing out against the pale background.

Esteban grinned as he admired his nails, clearly happy with the result. “The sponsors are going to love this.”

_I did say that I’d paint my nails to match._

*

Jo had fired off two texts, one to Will, and one to Nico, both of them saying the same thing – How are you? Call me as soon as you get a chance.

When they pulled up at the track, Jo braced himself for comments about his nails, but no-one seemed to bat an eyelid.

He scanned the crowds for any sign of Nico, but he had no idea what he might be wearing, and there were so many unfamiliar faces.

Someone grabbed his wrist, and he smiled, but then he turned to see Dany, his eyes wide and his lips compressed. He was wearing a Red Bull t-shirt, and his free hand fidgeted with his necklace, the silver sparkling in the light.

“Esteban, I’ll catch you up, I’ve got to have a quick word with Dany.” Jo winked at him, hoping that his smile looked calm. His mind was racing, Dany’s alternate had said that he might be able to help, and from the way that his eyes were darting around, he not only knew what was going on, but he was every bit as confused as to how he ended up here.

“Sure, but don’t be late to the briefing.” Esteban gave him a little wave, bounding along the paddock as he headed towards their motorhome.

“I won’t,” Jo mumbled, staring at the crowd as Esteban disappeared into the distance.

“We need to talk.” Dany dragged Jo down between two motorhomes, weaving their way through the collection of team personnel, none of whom gave them a second look.

Only when they were out of earshot of everyone else did Dany stop walking, letting go of Jo’s wrist which he rubbed absently.

“How did we end up here?” Dany stared at Jo, but all Jo could do was shrug. “Does your rabbit friend know?”

“I haven’t spoken to her.”

“Can you talk to her now?”

“Sure, I can try. I just need to call my brother first.” Jo slipped his phone out of his pocket, and saw a message from Will.

                I’m between races, can’t talk freely at the moment. Dad’s here.

                And I saw that you’re racing in Mexico this weekend?

Jo sent a quick text saying that he’d get back to him when he had more information, although he wasn’t sure when that would be.

“Hazel? Can you hear me?” Jo felt the pain behind his eyes, and he stumbled backwards, bashing into the corrugated metal of a shipping crate before sliding down into a heap on the floor.

“I can hear you, human.”

Jo heard Hazel’s voice coming out of his mouth, and he knew that he was going to look strange talking to himself, but Hazel was their best hope of getting answers.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“This universe is unstable.”

“Oh wow, really, I hadn’t noticed.” Jo knew that the sarcasm would be lost on Hazel, but he couldn’t stop his irritation from making itself known. All he wanted was answers, and yet they were nowhere to be found.

“It is all that I can tell you.”

“Where’s Nico?”

“He exists.”

“In my dream, I saw his atoms scattering. That was him being removed from this universe, wasn’t it?”

_Please tell me that it was just a nightmare._

“I’m sorry, human.”

Jo let out a piercing scream, a shriek that would have made a horror director proud, and he screamed until his lungs burned, his blood like acid rushing through his veins with every beat of his heart.

“Fuck.” Jo surprised himself at how calm he sounded, the numbness claiming him, and a single tear ran down his cheek as he felt his hope draining away.

Dany rested his hand on Jo’s knee, and the mere act of moving his eyes to look caused white spots to float in his vision as stabbing pains attacked his temple. His mouth was dry and he licked his lips, his head lolling back as his eyes fell closed.

“I’m sorry, Jo.” Dany’s voice sounded far away, and he reached out for his hand, needing something to ground him. “The same thing happened to Kelly.”

Jo gave his hand a squeeze, words beyond him as images flashed up in his mind. Winning GP2, getting to test with Force India, having Paul as his teammate for a year, and then Esteban replacing Paul when he moved to Williams.

“I’d been losing time,” Dany said, “And I’d been distant ever since I found out about the end of the universe.” Dany sighed, a low groan that rumbled through him. “I just assumed she’d got sick of me and left.”

Jo nodded, the movement groggy, his brain felt like it was just sloshing about in his skull and he winced in pain.

“Here, drink this.” The hiss of a can opening, and Jo knew that it would be Red Bull before the metallic smell hit his nose.

“Thanks.” Jo took a swig, the caffeine surging through his veins. “I’m sorry about Kelly.”

“I kind of wish that she’d broken up with me. At least I’d know that she was still out there, living her life.”

“We’ll find a way to stop this, we have to.” Jo opened his eyes, and the bright light blinded him, making him squint as he took another sip of Red Bull. “Do you have a portal generator like the other version of you did?”

“Yes, but the universe is too unstable to use it.” Dany inhaled, sucking in a deep breath as he stared into the distance. “By the time that I’ve recalibrated it, the universe has shifted again, making it useless.”

“Fuck.”

“Has your brother got any ideas?” A spark of hope flashed up in Dany’s bright green eyes, the distorted light making them look like they were glowing.

“Yes, but half the time I don’t understand what he’s saying.” Jo shook his head, he’d tried learning the basics of string theory, but ended up more confused then when he’d started. And Hazel, she’d tried to teach him, but she was having trouble simplifying it enough for his limited three-dimensional brain. “You should talk to him.”

Jo unlocked his phone, but he couldn’t focus on the screen and he handed it to Dany.

“Will won’t be surprised that I’m calling him?”

“No, your alternate dropped in the other week, and he said that you might be able to help us.”

Dany rolled his eyes, and Jo leant in for a hug. He got the sense that Dany wasn’t usually a hugger, but the situation was so surreal that it seemed the right moment for it.

“Did you see how happy he was? Showing off his fiancée.” Dany tutted, and Jo knew that pain.

It was bad enough knowing that they didn’t have a future, without someone else showing them exactly what they were missing out on.

“Last time I saw Nico, he asked me to marry him.” Jo waited for the tears to come, but all he felt was numb, like he was telling Dany about a film he’d seen. “And now, he’s gone. Even if we do save the universe, I don’t know if he’ll come back. What if he was never meant to be here?”

“I wish I had answers for you.” Dany gave Jo a squeeze, his breath warm against his ear. “Until then we just have to pretend that everything’s fine.”

_Fine. I don’t remember what that feels like._

*

The rest of the day Jo was on autopilot, nodding and smiling to hide the fact that he had no idea what was going on.

Esteban was easy to be around, and for that he was grateful. It made everything easier.

He made it to the final round of qualifying, but even that wasn’t enough to snap him out of his trance, faking the happiness that the team wanted to see.

Esteban was sixth, and he made a big show of congratulating him, although it was much easier to keep a smile on his face around Esteban. He had that effect on people.

By the time he got back to the hotel, he was drained, but he had to speak to Will, make sure that he was okay.

He flopped down on the bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes, just leaving them to hang over the edge. Even with his impending demise, he still couldn’t step away from the rules that had guided him all his life, clinging on to them in the hope that this was only temporary.

Fighting with his phone as it flickered, he found Will’s number and pressed dial, missing the days of phones with buttons, and the speed dial function.

_I feel old, although this is as old as I’m ever going to get._

Jo was roused out of his thoughts by the sound of Will’s voice, yawning between each word.

“Sorry, I know it’s late but I just had to talk to you.”

“It’s cool, I was messaging Dany.”

“Worked out how to stop this yet?”

_Please say yes. I need there to be something we can do, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed. I hate feeling useless._

“There’s a lab working on generating gravitational waves.”

“Is that what’s destroying the universe?”

“No, they’re nowhere near powerful enough.”

“Which means they’re not able to fix what’s wrong.” Jo switched the phone so that the loudspeaker was on, and he slid his shoes off before curling into a ball on the bed.

“Exactly.”

“The Large Hadron Collider?”

“Same problem, it couldn’t generate a black hole anywhere near big enough to collapse the universe and then hopefully reset it.” Will sighed, and it broke Jo’s heart to hear it. “I think we might have to admit that we’re not technologically advanced enough to fix whatever’s gone wrong.”

“Hazel doesn’t have any more information," Jo said, wishing he had better news, "She just keeps saying that she will consult with the others.”

“If the universe was stable she would be able to see the future, but she only gets glimpses. It’s not enough to see what’s causing this, or what can be done to stop it.” Will yawned again, and Jo could hear him powering down after a long day.

“You should sleep, you’re not going to be any use if you’re tired.” Jo felt bad that he wasn’t there to look after Will, but their dad would make sure that he at least ate and showered. “Congrats on second by the way.”

Will snorted in laughter. If it wasn’t for all the chaos in their lives, it would be the only topic of conversation, rather than a foot note.

“Thanks. Good luck for your race tomorrow.”

“Thanks. I love you, bro.”

_I can’t lose you too._

“I love you too, bro.” Will’s voice trembled, and Jo reached out for the phone, wishing that he could reach through the screen and hug him. If the universe kept falling apart maybe he would be able to do that.

Jo lay there, waiting for the line to go dead before switching his phone off.

Whatever the universe had to throw at him, it could wait until tomorrow.

If there was a tomorrow.

***

The beeping sound struck fear into Jo’s heart, and he woke with a jolt, sitting upright as his chest heaved, his breathing ragged and uneven.

_It’s just the alarm, you’re okay. You’re not in a hospital, you’re in a nice safe hotel room._

_In a universe that’s collapsing._

Jo took a deep breath, the air rushing into his lungs as his heart rate slowed, pulling himself together one atom at a time.

_You can do this, you have to be here to help Will, you have to fight until the end._

His phone buzzed, and for a split second he hoped that it was Nico, before reality came stomping in to crush his dreams.

Dany was asking if he could get a lift to the track, and there was another earlier message from Esteban saying that he’d be there in, fuck, fifteen minutes.

Jo shot out of bed, rushing to get a quick shower, before throwing on some clothes, not caring that he was wearing the same jeans from yesterday. He’d be in his new, pink, race suit soon anyway.

_You can do this. It’s just one race, you just have to keep the car on the track._

Esteban kept the conversation going in the car, and Jo wondered how he could be so cheery all the time, his bouncy energy radiating out of him.

They picked up Dany on the way, and he looked exhausted, the bright sunlight showing up how pale he was. His skin was almost translucent, and the bags under his eyes had doubled in size since yesterday.

He clearly hadn’t slept, and Jo reached back so that he could rest his hand on his knee, comforting without words.

There was nothing else to be said.

*

Jo strolled into the paddock, his eyes finally open, able to see everything around him as it was, rather than how he expected it to be.

Esteban rushed up to Lance, a huge grin on his face, at least they were still friends here, wherever here was.

And then Lance leant in for a kiss. Not a little peck-on-the-cheek type kiss that could be passed off as European. No, this was a kiss between lovers, tongues visible as they made out – in the middle of the paddock where anyone could see them.

Yet no-one batted an eyelid. Reporters kept on walking, and camera operators didn’t even bother turning their cameras on, let alone focusing on them.

The only person to say anything at all to them was Paul, dressed in the same Williams gear as Lance, jokingly telling them to ‘get a room.’

Jo looked at Dany, wanting to make sure that he was seeing this too, and from the way that Dany was staring, his brow furrowed and his lips parted, he was every bit as confused as Jo was.

A man in a Ferrari top was scurrying through the crowds, his hands full with a helmet and race suit that was too small to be his. There weren’t many F1 drivers with a beer gut, in any universe.

He looked familiar, but Jo couldn’t place him. He didn’t look like any of the minions that used to work for the Ferrari drivers, and then he caught sight of the driver that he belonged to, and it all made sense.

Uccio, Valentino Rossi’s best friend and loyal servant, was here because Valentino was.

_How did Valentino end up a Ferrari driver?_

“Morning, Jo.” Valentino stepped closer, and Jo tried to wipe the surprise off his face.

_Did Valentino Rossi just speak to me?_

Jo glanced at Dany, who was staring at Valentino with wide eyes, unblinking as the confusion merged with the lack of sleep.

“Hi, morning...“ Would it be Valentino, or Vale? Do I know him that well? Jo let his instincts take over, hoping they wouldn’t lead him astray “…Vale.”

“Late night?” Vale laughed, nudging Jo as he forced himself to smile.

“Yeah, little brother’s racing this weekend. I was up late to wish him good luck.”

“I got up early to do the same for Luca.”

Jo was fascinated by the way that Vale moved his hands as he spoke, and then his brain caught up with what he’d just said.

_Luca’s a driver in this universe? Followed in his big brother’s footsteps, not that I can talk._

Jo felt a pain behind his eyes, and an image of him standing at the side of a track with Vale flashed up in his mind, both of them watching on as proud big brothers.

“Vale,” Uccio said, glancing at his watch, “We’d better be going.”

“Good luck for the race guys, maybe I’ll see you on the podium.” Vale waved goodbye as he strolled off towards the Ferrari garage, leaving Jo and Dany standing there with their mouths hanging open.

“Did you see that?” Dany nudged Jo with his elbow, his eyes following Vale through the crowd.

“Yes, we’re a long way from home.”

Jo nodded towards the garages, they couldn’t stand there all day without looking suspicious, so they wandered along the paddock, marvelling at all the changes like tourists.

Dany’s arm rubbed against Jo’s, and he wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but old habits were hard to break. Jo settled for walking shoulder to shoulder, neither of them watching where they were going. 

Max was in a silver and turquoise race suit, the familiar Mercedes logo emblazoned on it, being interviewed by someone Jo didn’t recognise. She was wearing a baggy shirt and combat shorts that Jo would have expected Ted to wear, her brown hair tied back in a sensible plait, and her media tabard hanging out of her pocket, but all that meant was that she had permission to be in the pit lane.  However, it wasn’t how she was dressed that caught his attention, but what she was saying.

“Max, do you think that you can win your second world title this year?” The interviewer held out the microphone so that Max could answer.

“I’m going to try my best,” Max said, a grin on his face, “But Pascal’s a strong teammate, and Vale’s not going to give up without a fight, plus Dany and Carlos are looking strong in the Red Bull.”

Dany smiled for a second when he heard his name mentioned, but then it faded as quickly as it had appeared.

This wasn’t their universe. They were just intruders in someone else’s life.

And then someone wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and it wasn’t Dany. “Hey, gorgeous.”

Jo would recognise that voice anywhere, his best friend, Alex. He almost blurted out ‘what are you doing here?’ But he caught himself just in time.

“Hey, handsome.” Jo smiled, instinctively reaching out for Alex’s hand, and that was when Alex leant in for a kiss.

It was nothing compared to the display that Esteban and Lance had put on earlier, but it was definitely a more-than-just-friends kiss, a full-on meeting of the lips that made him feel conflicted. It felt right, but in his mind he was still dating Nico.

The pain shot through his mind, the pressure building as though his eyes were about to shoot out of their sockets, and he broke the kiss, stumbling back as he felt liquid running from his nose.

New memories were appearing, flashing in front of his eyes. The smell of hospitals as he sat with Alex, his dad connected up to a vast array of machines, beeping away as hope faded. A funeral on a rainy day, his arm wrapped around Alex’s waist, holding him up, his tears mingling with the rain as though the skies were crying for him. Lying together on the sofa, the sound of wind and rain battering against the window, stroking Alex’s hair as he comforted him. And a first kiss that led to a lot of other firsts, followed by many lazy days in bed.

“Jo?” Alex was waving his hand in front of his face, and Jo blinked, taking a breath as he focused on the here and now. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jo took the tissue and dabbed up the blood, wincing at the sight of it. “I think it’s just the altitude.”

“I’ll see you on the grid walk.” Alex grinned, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jo was amazed how quickly he responded, his instincts taking over. He reached out to hold Alex’s hand, stroking the side of it with his thumb.

Alex bounded off, heading towards what looked like the rest of the Sky Sports F1 team.

Jo walked on unsteady feet towards his garage, shoving the bloody tissue into his pocket so that he didn’t have to look at it.

“Who was that?” Dany whispered as they lurked outside the Force India garage.

“Alex Brundle, son of Martin Brundle. We grew up together, been best friends since before we could walk.” Jo smiled, at least he still had all his childhood memories, he couldn’t bear to lose them. “And in this universe we started dating after his dad died.”

Dany scrunched up his face, his hands curled into fists as he trembled, blood running down from his nose. “I remember. I went to the funeral.” Dany shook his head, all this was confusing enough without having two sets of memories.

“It’s going to be okay,” Jo said, wondering why he still felt the need to say that, when all the evidence was pointing to the opposite conclusion. “We just have to get through the race, and then we can head back to England.”

“Good plan.” Dany nodded. “I’ve been chatting to Will, and we’ve got a couple of ideas that have potential.”

Jo rushed in for a hug, not sure if it was instincts or the fact that him and Dany were bonded by the knowledge of the universe’s imminent demise.

“I’ll see you on the grid.”

Jo watched Dany walk away, his eyes looking everywhere but where he was walking, and Jo took a moment to let it all sink in.

His head spun with how surreal it all was, he’d been transported to another world, and he had no way of knowing if he could get home.

_Jo in Wonderland._

*

He had stood by Dany for the driver’s parade, both of them clearly thinking the same thing.

_Who are all these people?_

Jo thought that it was Danica Patrick wearing a Haas race suit, but he couldn’t say for sure. Marcus was chatting away to a woman that looked familiar, her thick blonde plait tucked into her shirt so that it didn’t flap in the wind.

“Loser buys dinner?” The accent didn’t help Jo, it was vaguely European sounding, but that described most racing drivers.

“You’re on, Simona.” Marcus reached out for a fist bump, both of them smiling at their little wager, the competitiveness spilling over from the track.

He glanced at Dany, but then someone was holding his hand, and he turned to see thick dark locks, and a smile that he would recognise anywhere.

“Hi, Roberto.” Jo smiled, trying to hide the confusion as he scanned his t-shirt for the name of his team, confused by the fact that it said Manor Racing.

Roberto held his hand, fascinated by the way the nail polish shone in the bright sunlight, and Jo wiggled his fingers, making Roberto laugh.

“Nice nails.” Roberto grinned, a kind smile with no mocking or malice behind it.

“Thank you.”

_Am I still dreaming? Did I ever wake up?_


	22. Lost

Jo woke up crying, unsure of where, or when, he was. He blinked a few times, but it did little to bring the room into focus.

He wiped his eyes with the duvet, before reaching out for his watch.

Ninth of November.

_Fuck, I’ve lost nearly two weeks._

Jo looked round at a generic hotel room, he could be anywhere in the world. “Will?”

_Please don’t be gone, I’m not strong enough to lose you too._

“Bro?” Will rushed through, his footsteps frantic, and Jo relaxed when he could see him. “Are you okay?”

“Last thing I remember I was in Mexico.”

“We’re in Brazil now.” Will spoke softly, his eyes flicking between Jo’s pupils, checking that he wasn’t concussed. Or worse, since neither of them knew what effects all this would have on a human.

“Where’s Dany?” Jo looked around, but he was alone in the bed, although if the dent in the pillows were anything to go by, he didn’t sleep alone last night.

“Sleeping on the sofa.”

“Why are you here?” Jo winced, and Will gave him a shove, shaking his head as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Because me being in England when you and Dany are here doesn’t really make sense.”

It was gracious of Will to include him, even though Will was best off wherever Dany was, between the two of them they had enough knowledge to figure this all out. All he could do was make tea and hand them things.

“Who’s looking after Hazel and Esteban?”

“Mum.” Will snorted in laughter, she wasn’t fond of rodents, as she called them. “But dad’s there too.”

“Don’t worry, Hazel will have them wrapped around her paw already.” Jo shook his head, Hazel was a natural when it came to getting what she wanted.

Dany appeared at the doorway, his hair sticking out at funny angles and his clothes crumpled from sleeping in them.

“Jo’s lost time.” Will looked at Dany, and he rushed over to the bed, placing his hands on either side of Jo’s head as he peered into his eyes.

“What’s the last thing that you remember?” Dany held on to Jo, tilting his head, and Jo felt like he was going to shake him just to see if anything fell out.

Jo batted away Dany’s hands, his skin clammy from his touch, and Dany sat down on the bed beside Will.

“We were in Mexico, on the driver’s parade, and then Roberto said that I had nice nails…” Jo scrunched up his face, trying to remember what came next.

“Relax.” Will reached out for his hand, and Jo took a breath, opening up his mind to the infinite possibilities.

He saw his missing memories stretched out in front of him like flicking through a series of photographs, the images overwhelming him as they settled in his mind.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, and he wiped at his nose with the tissue that Dany handed him.

“Do you remember everything now?” Dany glanced at Will, and they nodded at each other.

“Do you remember Nico?” Will’s voice was soft, like he was talking to a pet. A normal, non-hyper-intelligent pet.

“Yes.” Jo felt the lump in his throat grow, he still couldn’t believe that Nico was gone. And he had no way of knowing if he’d ever come back, even if they did stop the universe from being destroyed, which was looking unlikely with sixteen days to go.

“I’m sorry.” Will gave his hand a little squeeze, and Jo felt the tears streaming down his cheeks.

_I just want to hold Nico one last time. Is that too much to ask?_

“Once we fix the universe, you’ll get him back.” Will smiled, but Jo could see that he wasn’t convinced. It was nice of him to try, right now all they could do was put on a brave face and keep working to save the universe.

A faint beeping sound echoed in his ears, and he wondered how much more his mind could take before he suffered irreparable damage. Although the way things were going, in little over two weeks, it wasn’t going to matter.

*

Heading down to the track, Will and Dany chatted away about how they could generate an electro-magnetic pulse of sufficient size, like a defibrillator for the universe.

Jo wasn’t really paying attention, he didn’t understand most of it, but then he heard something that worried him.

“Nuclear weapon might do it.” Will sounded excited, a spark in his eyes that was definitely setting him up for a career as a mad scientist.

“Where are you going to get a nuke from?” Jo leaned forward so he could talk to Will, Dany doing the driving because no-one trusted Jo on the road right now. The last thing any of them wanted was to die in a car accident.

“At this rate someone else is going to do it for us.” Dany laughed, his deep chuckle perfect for the irony of the situation. If the world kept going like this, it was going to be destroyed by humans before the universe collapsed.

“You know that if we try and buy a nuclear weapon they’re going to lock us up.” Jo shook his head, if he knew that it would save the universe he’d do it. Spending the rest of his life in jail would be worth it.

Will was scribbling down calculations, and Jo knew it would be no use talking to him until he was finished. He sighed as he hooked his pen over the cover of his notebook, his head hanging low as he closed it.

“Even if we used every nuclear weapon on Earth, it would only destroy the planet, it wouldn’t be enough to even take out the solar system.”

“What about a black hole?” Jo wanted there to be a solution, but the more that they talked about options, the more futile it seemed.

Dany turned to look at Jo, oblivious to the fact that he was driving through heavy traffic.

“Hey, I don’t want to die just yet.” Will grabbed the wheel, and Jo felt his heart rate slow, but only a little.

“It’s not possible.” Dany focused on the road again, and Jo sat back, checking that his seatbelt was secure. “We would need to build a device so massive that it would be a loop of over two hundred kilometres.”

“It would take years, if not decades.” Will reached back so that he could rest his hand on Jo’s knee.

Jo stared out the window, there was nothing to say to that. He watched as the streets of Brazil sped by, surrounded by a clock of self-pity.

And then he saw something interesting.

“Stop the car!”

Dany pulled over with such force that Jo hit his head against the window, and Will let out a high-pitched shriek as they narrowly avoided being hit head-on by a truck.

“Fuck.” Will let out a long breath, staring at Dany who was smiling.

“What, this is nothing compared to traffic in Russia.” Dany shrugged, and Jo stared at him with his eyes wide, wanting to say something but his brain wasn’t cooperating.

“Why did you want to stop?” Will fumbled with his seatbelt, his skin pale as he clutched at his notebook.

“I wanted a burger.” Jo’s voice trembled, he’d never been that bothered about burgers until he’d met Nico, but now they were his one link to him. “I know that sounds pathetic, but I just miss him so much.”

Jo sniffed, the tears threatening to burst forth, but in the end numbness won.

He stumbled out of the car as Will and Dany followed, both of them clearly sensing that he was unfit to be left alone. The wide concrete pavement was filled with people, busier than ever thanks to the F1 race, and the brightly coloured shop fronts made the place feel like a festival.

Jo blinked, and the street around him changed to a narrow path along a cobbled road, with what looked like the Eiffel tower looming in the distance. The shops were all plain stone buildings, adorned with French flags.

He checked behind him, but Will and Dany were still there, blinking as though that would change what they were seeing.

_How the hell did we end up in Paris?_

Jo didn’t have to walk far to find a McDonald’s, he was on a mission to find a burger, and the others followed him without question.

He snorted in laughter when he walked in to the restaurant, they seemed to be identical in every universe, and he strolled up to the counter, freezing in his tracks when he saw the guy waiting to serve him.

Tall and lanky, pale, and with a smile that made the end of the world seem a little less bleak. He was the spitting image of his teammate.

“Je m’appelle Esteban, que désirez-vous?"

He stared for so long that Esteban repeated the question, and Will gave Jo a nudge.

“Je voudrais...” Jo counted the numbers on his fingers, holding up three of them. “Trois Big Macs.”

Will sniggered at his total lack of French skills, and Jo stepped back, gesturing for Will to take his place. He rolled his eyes, but then he was chatting away to Esteban without batting an eyelid, just one of the many things that Will was better at than he was.

Dany led Jo to a table, sitting close so that he could whisper. “That really looks like Esteban Ocon.”

“I know.”

“What does it mean?” Dany glanced around, keeping one eye on Will as he ordered their food.

“It could be a glitch, a glimpse of another universe that has bled through into ours.”

“Or…” Dany chewed on his lip, not wanting to say the words out loud in case he tempted fate.

“The universe has shifted again.” Jo rested his head in his hands, unsure of how much more of this he could take. The strange gravity, and light, had become second nature to him, even the faint beeping sound was little more than an occasional annoyance to him now. But the thought that he could lose Will, that was an unimaginable horror.

Will had a smile on his face when he wandered over with their food, but it faded when he sat down.

“It’s definitely Esteban Ocon.” Will flashed the receipt with a phone number, and a kiss underneath his name.

“Is it our Esteban?” Dany whispered, reaching out for the food absently as he looked at Will for answers.

“He used to kart a long time ago but then his family couldn’t afford it anymore.”

“He could still be another version of him.” Dany tore open the small paper bag containing his fries, and Jo jumped at the noise, unwrapping his burger with a tear in his eye.

“Especially since we’ve travelled in space, and maybe time.”

“He seems a similar age to our Esteban.” Dany glanced over his shoulder, and Esteban was still smiling as he served customers, chatting away to Spanish tourists.

“Would we notice a few months, a year even?” Will stuffed fries in his mouth, Jo was sure that in addition to not sleeping last night, he also couldn’t tell him the last time that he ate either.

“Probably not.” Dany shook his head as Will demolished his burger in three bites, he would have made Nico proud.

Jo was glad that he wasn’t part of the conversation, he could wallow in pity as he ate his burger, savouring every bite. But his mind wouldn’t give him peace.

“Can we even get back to Brazil, to the right time?” Jo took a slurp of his cola, the ice sloshing about in the cup.

Dany paused, and Will reached out for his notebook, pausing to wipe his fingers on his jeans.

“We could just re-trace our steps?” Dany raised an eyebrow, and Will smiled, putting his notebook back in his pocket.

Jo nodded, savouring the last few bites of his burger, the tang of the pickles dancing on his tongue as he felt the lump in his throat grow.

Will held up his cup, and Dany did the same, both of them looking at Jo, waiting for him to join them.

“To Nico.”

The ice clattered as their cups met, and Jo smiled.

_Nico would love this, his wake at a McDonald’s._

*

Jo was glad that spending so much time in unfamiliar places had left him with a good sense of direction, and he found his way back to the quiet little cobbled street where they had appeared.

Dany held his hand as they crossed back into the busy Brazilian street, Will hanging on to the hem of his t-shirt as he used to when he was a toddler, following Jo everywhere.

The sound felt like someone had turned up the volume on the entire world, cars honking as people chatted away, laughing and joking with friends.

Jo took a second to get his bearings, heading for the car with Dany still holding his hand, but no-one seemed to notice.

“It’s the same time as when we ‘left’.” Will tapped his watch, checking that it was still working, but it appeared that they’d managed to travel to Paris, and back, in the blink of an eye.

_It’s just a fragment of another universe, you don’t have to worry about Esteban._

But that didn’t stop him from tapping his foot for the entire journey to the track, ignoring Dany’s irritated glances.

Jo jogged along to the garage, not wanting to scare anyone by sprinting there, and he waved to a few people on the way. He didn’t recognise most of them, but he couldn’t worry about that now.

The garage was quiet, mechanics milling around, and he scanned all the faces, checking to see if they were Esteban.

And then he saw the sign on the side of the garage – James Calado.

He’d been Force India’s test and reserve driver a few years back, but it looked like in this universe he’d got a race seat.

_Does that mean that Esteban is gone? Or is he just racing for another team?_

Jo strode along to the Red Bull garage, Dany was probably the best person to ask for answers, and he tried to look like he was just out for a stroll, but he was sure that the panic showed in his eyes.

He was part way down the paddock when an arm reached out, pulling him between the motorhome and a stack of tyres. Dany pressed his finger to his lips, and Jo nodded, his lips compressed.

“Pierre’s not here.”

“It looks like Esteban’s gone too.”

“Makes sense, Pierre started karting because Esteban leant him his.”

“I didn’t know that.” Jo wondered how many people had disappeared since the universe had become unstable, and if anyone missed them. “Is this going to keep happening?”

“It’s only going to get worse.”


	23. How Soon Is Now?

_Five Days Remaining._

Will and Dany were pouring over data, both of them oblivious to the low rumble that felt like it was going to shake their atoms lose.

Emily was gone, her room bare in a way that would only be possible if she’d ceased to exist. He’d tried to get his mind to adjust to the new memories, but the headaches were so intense that he was starting to worry that he’d have a seizure if he forced his mind to accept every new change in the universe.

The sight of blood dripping from his nose no longer made him wince, and he felt at ease with what was to come.

He had accepted his fate.

“I am coming with you, human.” Hazel jumped on to Jo’s lap, crawling up so that her whiskers were tickling his cheek.

“You can’t come, rabbits aren’t allowed on planes.”

“You can carry me.”

“It’s too suspicious.” Jo stroked her head as Esteban hopped up on to the sofa, sniffing the air to see if there was any food. “I don’t want to spend my last five days on Earth, in jail.”

“You would not go to jail.” Hazel started grooming his eyebrows, her tongue rough and yet soft.

“That’s reassuring.” He stroked the soft fur behind her ears, and she chattered her teeth, a symbol of happiness.

“They would probably just shoot you.” Hazel flicked her whiskers, and Jo snorted in laughter.

“Thanks, Hazel.”

_I have five days left to save the universe, and I am going to fight until my dying breath._

*

Jo had made more tea when Will finally looked up from his laptop.

“I think that neutrinos hold the answer.” Will stared at Jo, his eyes bloodshot and unblinking.

Jo nodded, holding out the cups as eager hands reached out for the warm, sweet, milky tea that seemed to be all that was powering them right now.

That and a large amount of Red Bull.

“The facility isn’t far from Imola,” Dany said, “So we can keep pretending that everything is fine.”

“You want to stop in Italy on the way to Abu Dhabi?” Jo frowned, sipping at his tea as he looked between Will and Dany, waiting for an answer.

Dany tilted his head, and Jo was sure that he was missing something, but his mind was starting to resemble swiss cheese. For every solid memory he could remember, he had several vague feelings of something that he should know, but couldn’t put his finger on.

“The final round of the F1 calendar is Imola.” Will reached out to rest his hand on Jo’s arm, the worry clear in his eyes.

“Sorry, my simple mind can’t keep up with all the changes.” Jo shook his head, hoping that it would shake something loose, but he was still drawing a blank.

“We need to go and grab a few things from a research lab in Italy, and then take that to CERN so that we can create and tiny black hole at the exact same time as we fire a neutrino into it.”

Jo ignored the fact that grab no doubt meant steal, but they were running out of time, and drastic measures were going to be needed.

“Will that work?”

“Probably not, human.” Esteban stood on his hind legs, and Jo was amazed by the fact that his voice sounded exactly like Esteban Ocon’s voice.

“Now you decide to talk.” Jo crouched down so that he could pet him, his soft fur calming as he made himself comfy.

“You have not yet perfected the technology to create stable black holes of any sufficient size.” Esteban flicked his whiskers as he nuzzled against Jo’s hand. “You will only have a few nanoseconds before it collapses, and the odds of successfully firing a neutrino into it during that time are infinitely small.”

“One question, what is a neutrino?” Jo looked over at Hazel, but it was Will that spoke.

“It’s a particle that can travel faster than the speed of light.” Will downed the last of his tea, a look of grim determination on his face.

“So, it should be able to travel through a black hole?” Jo looked between the four intelligent creatures in the room, and they all nodded.

“Hypothetically.”

“But would it save the universe?”

“We don’t know, but right now, we’re all out of time, and it’s the only idea that we’ve got.” Will sat his mug down on the table, and with that he was back to work, pouring through research papers and blogs about time travel.

Esteban sat beside him, not pestering him for attention but just keeping him company. He often did the same with Hazel, sitting next to her so that their whiskers were touching, letting her know that she wasn’t alone while giving her space.

Jo felt so impotent, there was nothing that he could do to help right now. The research papers might as well have been written in Greek for all that he understood, and it would take longer for Will and Dany to explain it to him than it would for them to just read it themselves.

_There has to be something that I can do. I hate doing nothing._

_How can I get two rabbits to Italy without being arrested going through security at the airport?_

“You could smuggle us in your underwear.” Hazel clambered back on to his lap, cuddling in as she made herself comfy, lying on her side as she kicked her back legs out.

“Not even Nico could pull that off.” Jo snorted in laughter, Nico’s bulge was legendary, and even then, a rabbit-sized bulge would have looked out of place on him.

“You could put us in a bag?” Hazel looked up at him, and Jo shook his head.

“The bags have to go through an x-ray machine, they’d see your bones and realise that you’re a live animal.”

“Would I have to go through security?”

“Yes, all airports have strict security now.” Jo frowned, his brain itching as the beeping sound echoed in his ears. His mind was on to something, he was having an idea. “But we don’t have to fly.”

“How will we get there, human?”

“We can take the train all the way to Italy.” Jo reached over for his laptop, typing frantically as he put his idea into action.

The train had much less security, and he could smuggle the rabbits through in a bag.

_Why didn’t I think of that before?_

*

Jo was sweating profusely, even though there was a chill in the air, and there seemed to be air-conditioning on the train, which was a rarity in Britain. It never really got warm enough to use it.

He could feel the sweat dripping down his back, and he clutched his rucksack tight.

The customs and immigration officer towered over him, clad entirely in black, and with an alarming amount of weapons and other scary-looking things clipped to his belt.

Jo was afraid to look him in the eye, and under the table, Will or Dany stretched out their leg to rest against his.

“Passport please, sir.”

Jo fumbled his passport out of his jeans pocket, it was tatty and worn, due to be replaced in less than a year. It was little more than bits of paper, and yet it held a magical quality, the power to travel freely.

The guy glanced between the photo on the passport and Jo, he’d changed a lot since the photo was taken, he was a chubby-cheeked teenager covered in acne back then, but it still looked enough like him.

He handed Jo back his passport, and Jo mumbled his thanks as he checked Will and Dany’s passports. Dany’s Russian passport seemed to require the most attention, and Dany kept a neutral smile through it all, no trace of worry on his face as Jo felt one of the rabbits move in the bag.

“You are standing on my head.” Esteban’s voice, and Hazel let out a huffy snort, before the bag wriggled some more.

The officer gave Dany his passport, but then his attention was on Jo again, and Jo felt his heart rate spike.

“There’s space for your bag on the rack, I can put it up for you.”

“It’s okay,” Will said, flashing the officer his innocent little angel smile, “He’s a nervous traveller. He’s absolutely terrified of flying and even in a car he’s an awful passenger.”

Jo was envious of Will’s easy charm, but right now they needed someone with social skills, and Will was the best man for the job.

“My wife’s the same, bit of a control freak.” The officer’s laugh was soft, putting Jo at ease as Will chuckled.

Jo laughed nervously, and Will gave the officer a wave as he continued down the train.

They waited until he moved to the next carriage, the air rushing past them as the smell of diesel grew stronger, before they spoke again.

“Just twelve hours to go and we’ll be in Italy.”

“We should be there in time for breakfast.”

***

_Four Days Remaining._

Dany shook Jo awake, Will carefully carrying the rucksack with Hazel and Esteban in.

“We’re just approaching the station.”

They had changed trains twice, both times not long after Jo had finally managed to doze off to sleep, and he had a long day in front of him. Caffeine was his new best friend for the next four days.

He could sleep when he was dead.

Dany had booked a hire car for them, and the plan was to drop the rabbits off at the hotel before heading down to the research facility to ‘borrow’ some of their equipment.

Once they were in the car, Jo felt a rush of excitement. They were doing this, they were going to save the universe.

“I’ll come with you,” Jo said, “To wherever this facility is.”

“No.” Will sounded almost annoyed, and Jo couldn’t figure out why.

“I can help.” Jo knew that he had no hope of working the equipment, but he had

“I’m going in alone.” Dany looked at Will, who nodded. “That way if I get caught, there’s someone to take over.”

“Exactly.” Will looked back over his shoulder at Jo, and Jo hung his head. “If we all get caught, who will save the universe?”

“You’re right.”

“I always am.” Will stuck his tongue out, and it almost felt like old times, on a road trip with his brother.

_Just two bros hanging out, waiting for the universe to end._

*

Jo spent the day pacing around the room, much to the annoyance of the rabbits, who were catching up on their sleep after a long night of travelling.

He couldn’t settle, and his eyes wouldn’t focus on the screen, reading beyond his comprehension as he admitted defeat, closing the laptop and joining the rabbits for nap time.

His eyes flew open at the sound of the door closing, and he rushed towards it, his smile fading when he saw that it was just Alex.

“I thought you’d be happy to see me.” Alex grinned, leaning in for a kiss, and Jo had to admit that it felt good, like a favourite hoodie that was warm and comfy. But it couldn’t mask the sadness that he felt every time remembered that Nico was gone.

“I am.” Jo forced a smile on to his face, but it didn’t last long, his body’s need for oxygen making him yawn as Alex wrapped his arm around his waist.

Alex froze, his eye twitching, and Jo felt a scream building in his lungs at the thought of Alex being taken from him.

“You brought the rabbits with you?” Alex tilted his head, his smile growing.

Jo breathed a sigh of relief, confusing Alex as he felt his shoulders sag, the exhaustion catching up with him.

“Yes, I couldn’t find anyone to look after them, so I just got the train here.” Jo shrugged, trying for indifferent, and he resisted the urge to yawn, compressing his lips shut.

“There were free seats on my flight, I could have brought them.” Alex wandered to the bed, slipping off his shoes as the rabbits rushed up to him, both vying for his attention.

“Really?” Jo slumped down on the bed beside Alex, his mind not focused on the conversation, but he was hoping the yawning would give Alex a plausible reason why he wasn’t fully paying attention.

“Yeah, I’m sure an extra seat would be cheaper than the train.”

“It was fun getting the train, made a change from all the airports.”

_I’d always planned to travel around Europe by train one winter break, and I guess the trip here was as close as I’ll get._

“You look tired, maybe you should get a nap before dinner?” Alex shuffled so that he could lift the duvet up, and Jo nodded, yawning as he lay out.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

_There’s nothing more that I can do until Will and Dany get back, so I might as well sleep. I have to save my energy for whatever comes next._

“I love you.” Alex kissed him on the forehead, stroking his hair as sleep claimed him.

*

Jo woke to an empty bed, and he reached out, feeling the warm patch where Alex had been.

_Please don’t take him._

There was a laugh, a deep chuckle that could only be Dany’s, and Jo bolted through to the adjoining living room, his heart pounding and his mouth dry.

All three of them were standing there, and Jo slunk up to Alex’s side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders just to stop himself from falling over.

Will and Dany were both smiling, and there was a collection of boxes stacked up in the corner. They were stamped with the familiar Red Bull logo, but Jo knew that it was the stolen equipment.

“Is it cool if I sleep here tonight, bro?”

Jo nodded, and Dany shuffled on the spot, but Jo couldn’t think of a reason for Dany to be staying with them too.

“And…” Will looked at his feet, a faint blush on his cheeks, and Jo wondered when he’d become such a good actor. “Is it cool if Dany stays too?”

Will reached out for Dany’s hand, intertwining their fingers as Dany, to his credit, looked like he was in love, fluttering his eyelashes.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Will said, staring at Jo as though he was trying to telepathically transmit thoughts. “Dany and I, we’re dating.”

“Dating?” Jo heard the confusion in his voice, but then he nodded along. They needed a reason for Dany to stay here, and this was way easier than telling Alex the truth.

Even though Alex had no clue what was going on, it was nice to have him by his side. He couldn’t imagine facing the end of the universe without his best friend.

“I’m happy for you guys.” Alex gave Jo a nudge, before rushing in to hug Will, the tension in the room fading.

And then Alex hugged Dany, and the way that he winced when Alex’s arms wrapped around him had Jo worrying all over again.

Will stared at Jo, before flicking his eyes to Alex, and Jo knew what he had to do.

“I think we should have pizza to celebrate this.” Jo pointed between them, not sure how normal people would react. “Alex, would you go and fetch them for us?”

“Sure.” Alex grinned, standing on his tiptoes so that he could give Jo a brief kiss on the lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Alex patted his pockets, and his keys rattled, making him smile. “I won’t be long.” Alex blew Jo a kiss, waving goodbye to Will and Dany.

Jo smiled, holding his breath until he heard the door click closed.

“Dating?” Jo raised an eyebrow.

“No, but how else were we going to explain Dany staying?”

Dany winced as he sat down on the sofa, and Will rushed to his side, unzipping his hoodie to reveal a bloody wound, covered by gauze.

“What happened?” Jo crouched in front of Dany, flinching as Will peeled the gauze back.

“Jo, can you fetch the first aid kit from my bag?”

Jo stared, not moving until Dany gave him a nudge in the right direction.

He found the little green box, the white cross flickering as he took a breath.

“Who stabbed you?” Jo handed the box to Will, and he made quick work of cleaning the wound.

“I was shot.” Dany gasped as the smell of antiseptic filled the room, and the beeping sound that haunted Jo got quicker, echoing in his ears.

“It’s fine, I got the bullet out and it didn’t hit any major organs.” Will taped more gauze over the gunshot wound, and Dany relaxed, slumping back into the seat.

“Fuck, are the police looking for you?” Jo glanced around, but they were still alone, and it wasn’t like it would be hard to find out where they were.

“We wore masks, and we used a stolen car.” Will smiled, proud of himself, and Jo shook his head.

“Oh, well that’s fine then.” Jo felt his stomach churn, his hands trembling at the thought of what awaited them when they tried to break into CERN. “Are you going to be able to do… whatever has to be done tonight?”

“We need to adjust the equipment so that we can sync it with the creation of the black hole.”

“How long is that going to take?”

The worry lines on Will’s forehead gathered speed, and he looked so young. “At least a day, maybe more.”

“We’ve got less than four days left.” Jo compressed his lips, they were all aware of the looming deadline, time rushing past without any consideration for them and their needs.

“I know.”

The three of them jumped when they heard the door open, and Dany rushed to zip up his hoodie, Will stuffing everything back into the first aid kit and throwing it over to where the boxes were stacked up.

They all tried to look casual when Alex wandered back in with the pizza, but Alex wasn’t the most observant at the best of times.

Aliens could land and he’d probably offer them a ride into town.

***

_Three Days Remaining._

The sound of the shower running roused Jo out of his trance, staring blankly at the ceiling. He couldn’t tell if he’d lost time, or if his mind was struggling to deal with the exhaustion. Jo hadn’t managed more than an hour’s sleep in days now, his mind constantly reminding him that there was a universe to save, and he’d spent half the night fetching tea for Will while Alex had slept, oblivious to all that was going on.

_I would give anything to be ignorant of all this. But then who would look after Will?_

Parts were scattered everywhere, and Jo had no idea what any of them did. Hazel was prodding things with her nose, but she had been strangely quiet of late.

Dany looked less pale now that he’d eaten, and three cans of Red Bull was helping him fight through the worst of the pain. Neither of them looked like they’d got any sleep.

“How’s it going?”

“Slowly.” Will sighed, picking up what looked like a clear wire, before carefully threading it through a gizmo that Jo couldn’t name.

“Will it be ready for tonight?”

Dany shook his head, and Jo felt a stabbing pain in his arm, his breathing uneven as he sat down on the edge of the sofa.

_We’re not going to be ready in time._

“What can I do to help?”

_Please don’t say nothing._

_I hate sitting around._

“If you can get any sense out of the rabbits, we could do with all the help that we can get.”

“I’ll try.” Jo watched as Hazel flicked her ears, listening to everything, and Jo felt his blood run cold.

_What if she’s the one behind this? Is that why she keeps giving vague answers?_

*

Jo lay out on the bed, feeding the rabbits treats as he petted them, wondering what to ask them to get useful answers.

“Human, I can read your mind. I know what you’re thinking.” Hazel flicked her whiskers, letting Esteban eat the last raisin as she hopped up to Jo, sitting by his face.

“Sorry.” Jo let his eyes fall closed, petting Esteban as he sniffed at his hand. “Do you know how to stop this?”

“No. This has never happened before.”

“You said universes come and go.”

“Yes.”

“If this universe falls apart, could it take other universes with it?”

“Possibly. We have no way of knowing, because it has never happened before.”

Jo let the tears fall, crying himself to sleep as Hazel licked the tears away.

*

A hand was pressing his forehead down, and Jo struggled against it, his arms batting Alex away as he tried to comfort him.

“It’s okay, it’s just me.” Alex pulled him into a hug, stroking his back. “It feels like you have a fever.”

“I’ll live.” Jo felt the lump in his throat growing, and he took a deep breath, hoping that he could push all the bad thoughts away.

“I’m worried about you.” Alex sat back so that he could look into Jo’s eyes, stroking the side of his face. “You’ve been so stressed lately.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Talk to me.”

_The universe is falling apart with us in it, but you’re blissfully ignorant to it all._

“I’m just tired, and I keep hearing a faint beeping noise that’s driving me crazy.” Jo sighed, no good would come of telling Alex everything. “Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a bizarre dream.”

_That makes just about as much sense as anything else that’s going on right now._

“I think you should speak to your dad about all of this.” Alex nodded, the lines around his eyes showing exactly how worried he was.

It was nice that someone cared about him.

“You’re right, I’ll do it after the weekend.”

“I love you, I hope you never forget that.”

_I’ll remember you for the rest of my life, all sixty-eight hours of it._

***

_Two Days Remaining._

Jo stumbled through to see that Dany and Alex were gone.

_Had they ceased to exist or were they just elsewhere?_

Will had no answers, and he was silent for the rest of the day as he worked away on re-calibrating the equipment that he’d stolen.

Jo felt hope fading, without Dany it was going to take longer, and each tick of his watch felt like it was taunting him.

Hazel huddled next to Esteban for comfort, and Jo felt alone.

***

_One Day Remaining._

A blood curdling scream woke Jo from his nightmare, his mind groggy and his neck aching from sleeping on the sofa.

He saw Will grasping at the equipment with fading hands, his fingers slipping through the solid metal as though it wasn’t there.

“No!”

Jo reached out to hold him, but he couldn’t find a part of him that was solid, his atoms scattering like dandelion seeds in the wind.

Will’s face was twisted in pain, and Jo screamed for it all to stop, desperately grabbing at Will in the hope that he could yank him back into existence.

But it was no use.

Will’s heart was the last bit of him to fade, beating one last time as the tiny red particles swirled into nothingness.

Jo screamed until his throat was raw, white spots floating in his vision as he stumbled to his feet.

“I’m sorry, human.” Hazel stood on her back legs, balancing awkwardly as she tried to get his attention.

“We’re going to CERN.” Jo compressed his lips, he had a job to do, and he wasn't going to let Will down.

“You have to drive today.”

“I don’t have to do anything. Not anymore.” Jo’s ragged voice was at odds with his blank face, his mind protecting him from the horror of reality.

_I have to finish what Will started, and pray that it works._

*

Loading up the car had been difficult on his own, the rabbits unable to help. In one of the boxes he’d found a hand gun, and he’d stuck it in his pocket without thinking.

He wasn’t sure that he could use it, but lately he’d done a lot of things that he could never have imagined.

Jo was liberal with his interpretation of the speed limit signs, Hazel watching out for anything that looked like a police car.

He couldn’t go to jail, but he didn’t want to shoot a police officer if he could avoid it.

“Human, we have to do whatever it takes.”

_A talking rabbit is telling me to shoot people. What has the world come to?_

*

Arriving in Geneva, Jo wished that he’d thought things through. It was a sizable city, and it was bustling with people.

“We are going to have to wait until it is dark.” Hazel yawned as she stretched out, the day was her night, and she’d stayed up so that she could act as look out.

“Get some sleep, I’ll wake you when it’s quiet enough to break in.”

“Thank you, human.”

Hazel twitched in her sleep, and Jo wondered what she was dreaming of. Did the end of the universe haunt her the way that it haunted him?

Jo spent a couple of hours studying maps, working out where the best place would be to gain access to the labs, but all he could find was information about the visitor centre.

When he could stand waiting no longer he woke Hazel, the fur around her eyes sitting in such a way that it made her look like she had bags under her eyes.

“It’s time.”

Hazel nodded, peering through to Esteban who was curled up on the back seat, oblivious to it all.

Jo left Esteban sleeping, he couldn’t carry both of them and leave a hand free for the gun.

His hands trembled when he held it, but if it was what needed to be done, then he would have no choice.

Wandering through the streets of Geneva, two large boxes obscuring his view, and shielding him from the unblinking eyes of security cameras. He had a rabbit in one pocket and a gun in the other, both probably more use to him than the random components in the box.

“You’re my last hope, Hazel.”

“I will do what I can, human.”

Jo sat the boxes by the door, the glass giving him a false sense of hope.

_How hard can it be to break one glass door?_

The gun shot would only advertise their presence, but they didn’t have time to waste. The clock was ticking down, and there were only hours left.

Jo took the gun out of his pocket, aiming it at the door as his muscles tensed, his body braced for the noise as he pulled the trigger.

Click.

The gun wasn’t loaded. He kept pulling the trigger, but nothing happened, and he slumped against the door, banging his forehead on the glass.

Jo held the gun by the barrel, slamming it into the door, but it barely chipped the glass. He pounded at it with all his might, screaming as the gun fell out of his hand, leaving him to pound at the door with his fists.

“Freeze.”

Jo saw in the reflection of the glass that the officers were swarming around them, and he knew that there was nothing else he could do.

“Human, we have to go before they shoot us.”

Jo sprinted off into the night, stumbling through the woods as he held Hazel tight.

There was no way that they could go back tonight, they had missed their one chance, and now that there was increased security, it was likely that they would be shot if they returned.

_Game over._

***

_Three Hours Remaining._

Jo struggled against his restraints, but it was no use, doctors were swarming into the room as the machines beeped frantically.

He watched over it all from outside his body, time slowing as people scurried around, all fighting to save him.

The lights flickered, his eyes opening before falling closed again.

He felt pain shoot through his arm as the nurse stuck a needle in, jumping back as the beep of the defibrillator screeched out, warning everyone of what was to come.

Will sat in the corner, his face buried against Alex’s chest as he cried. Even at the end, they were there for him.

In the distance as song was playing, ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by The Smiths, the familiar intro putting a smile on his face. The beats played in time with the machines, merging into one, and he felt at peace.

His body convulsed, his back arching as the electricity surged through him, the pain spreading through his chest as he struggled to breathe.

The shrill beep of the defibrillator rang out one last time, hope fading as the lights dimmed, the darkness dragging his soul away.

“Human.” Hazel came into focus, and Jo gasped, sucking in a deep breath as he tried to move, but he was trapped.

He was back in the car, the seatbelt wrapped around him, Hazel nipping at his arm, her whole body on alert.

“There is not long left.”

“I know.” Jo let out a sob, looking at his watch through bleary eyes. “But there’s nothing I can do now.”

“I am sorry, human.”

The keys were in the ignition, and Jo turned them, but nothing happened.

“Typical.”

_Not that there was anything I could do, even if I did have a working car._

He undid the seatbelt, but he had nowhere to go. Even if he got out and walked, he was miles away from anywhere.

Stepping out of the car, he didn’t even bother closing the door, Hazel following him as Esteban moved to the driver’s seat, peering out of the car.

The view was breath taking, the Swiss Alps laid out beneath him, and Jo collapsed to the ground, the damp soaking into his clothes as the tears ran down his face.

“Will, I’m sorry, I’ve failed you.”

He felt his body floating, but he couldn’t tell if it was exhaustion, or if gravity was broken.

“He cannot hear you.” Hazel sat next to him, absently chewing on a blade of grass.

“Fuck you, rabbit. You were meant to help us fix this!” Jo sounded drunk, and he wished that he’d raided the minibar at the hotel, at least he would have had a way to numb the pain.

Hazel twitched her ears as a gust of wind ruffled her fur.

“You do not understand, human. Universes just are.”

“Are what? Are you telling me that there was no way to stop this?” Jo stood up, stumbling to his feet as he tripped over a rock, landing back on his bum with a thud.

“Universes just exist, no-one has any control over them.”

“Then who is doing all this!” Jo buried his face in his hands, this was how he was going to die, wet and cold and alone. “Fuck you! Fuck the universe! Fuck it all!”

“Jo.” Hearing Hazel say his name made him freeze, and he swayed in the wind as she hopped over to him. “There is no-one in control of the universes. It does not work like that.”

“Then show me how it works!”

Jo saw the infinite universes stretch out in front of him, all happening simultaneously as the world faded, white light blinding him.

He felt like his organs no longer fitted inside his body, his skin taut, tested to its limits, and his brain pressed against his skull, the pain unbearable as he screamed for it to stop.

He screamed until his voice sounded alien to his ears, and he opened his eyes to see Esteban towering over him. His front paws were bigger than Jo’s head, and his whiskers stretched out into the infinite.

Jo blinked, the images in front of his eyes jerky, as though he was watching an old 35mm film, and yet he wasn’t moving.

“Am I alive?” Jo looked down at his own hands, their outline undulating, strobing between different forms as he blinked, waiting for them to stabilise. “Am I dead? Am I in a coma?”

“Yes and no.”

Jo frowned at Esteban, his white fur like fine strings snaking around each other, making it hard to focus on him.

“You are all of the possible versions of yourself.”

“Where am I?” Jo felt his stomach churn, moving inside his body as he went to throw up, but nothing happened.

“This is my dimension. Here are the infinite possibilities.”

Esteban hopped out of the way as Jo tried to sit up, but his brain couldn’t make sense of which way that was, and he rolled on to his knees, the light here making everything look strange.

Yet there was something familiar about the place.

His head lolled around as his muscles got used to the different gravity, and he took a breath, clearing his mind so that he could make sense of it all.

He was staring at a vast white corridor, lined with what looked like arcade games, their screens flashing up images of beings beyond his comprehension.

And then he saw a screen that had an image of a brown rabbit with a smidge of white on her nose, surrounded by grass as the sun set.

“Hazel?”

“This is your universe.” Esteban nodded at the machine.

“My universe is nothing but a video game to you?” His voice was small and shaky, he was terrified, and yet he was in awe of it all.

_Will would have loved this._

A single tear ran down Jo’s cheek, and he brushed it away. It was too late for all that.

Jo stumbled to his feet, his legs felt longer than he was used to, and the joints moved in strange and unfamiliar ways.

“Where are the controls?” Beneath the screen there was nothing, no buttons or joystick that he could see. He felt at the smooth dark surface, staring into the void, so black that not even light reflected off it.

“There are no controls, human.”

On the side of the machine there was a single red button, like the sort for operating the flippers on a pinball machine. 

 “What about this button?” Jo pressed it without thinking, and the screen went blank, the machine making a whirring sound as Jo jumped back.

Esteban nudged him out of the way with his nose, easier now that he was taller than him, and Jo watched in fascination as a large disk appeared out of a slot.

It was a similar size to an old vinyl record, but it was shiny like a CD.

Esteban reached out to take the disk, his paws moving in ways that Jo wouldn’t have thought possible in three-dimensional space. But wherever they were, they had access to way more dimensions than that.

Jo watched as Esteban held it up, and when he saw the underside, he gasped in amazement.

The bottom of the disk danced with infinite colours, stars shining out and galaxies swirling, as though the entire universe was trapped in the disk.

“That’s my universe?”

“Yes, human.”

Jo leant in so that he could stare at it, the shapes so familiar, and he was humbled by it all.

No human had ever seen anything like this before.

“What’s that?” Jo pointed at a thin white line that ran through a small part of the disk.

Esteban moved Jo back, and Jo felt dizzy as he stared down the infinitely long corridor, the white light extending forever into the distance.

“Curious.” Esteban peered at the disk. “It is a hair.”

“That’s what caused the destruction of my universe? A rabbit hair!” Jo shook with rage, his fists clenched, but it didn’t change anything.

It was too late.

“Sorry, human.”

Esteban blew the hair off the disk, inspecting it closely before putting it back into the arcade game.

Jo dropped to his knees, the anger replaced by sadness. His whole universe was gone, everyone that he’d ever known, everything that had ever existed, all wiped out by a rabbit hair.

It was so unfair. But that was just life.

Music played in the distance, the song that had been haunting him all day, one lyric in particular running through his head, taunting him.

_All my hope is gone._

The screen flickered, catching Jo’s attention, and the image of Hazel returned, she was washing her ears, oblivious to the fact that the universe was ending around her.

Words flashed up, and Jo squinted so that he could see them.

‘Do you want to continue?’

Five.

Jo struggled to stand up, his body not designed for these dimensions.

Four.

His blood ran cold at the horror of it all, and he stumbled towards the arcade game, willing his body to move faster.

Three.

He was within touching distance, and yet there were no buttons.

“What do I press?” Jo looked back, but Esteban was gone.

Two.

“Fuck.”

Jo reached out for Hazel, his hand passing through the screen as he felt the breeze on his hand, Hazel’s soft fur brushing up against him.

One.

There was a blinding white light, and he screamed out for it all to stop, for someone to make it right.

Zero.


	24. In the End

Jo gasped for air as his eyes flew open, his heart pounding, and he looked around for any sign of danger. He was in a white room, with a pristine white blanket draped over him. Soft snores were coming from nearby, and he turned to see Nico lying naked next to him, twitching in his sleep.

He reached out to touch him, trailing his fingers over the familiar pattern of moles that were scattered across his back, and Nico stretched without waking, cuddling into the pillow.

_It’s you, it’s really you._

Tears welled up in his eyes, and Jo didn’t want to leave him, but his body’s needs dragged him out of bed, stumbling towards the bathroom on unsteady legs.

The flat was Nico’s, which answered one of the questions rattling around in his mind, but it was different to the last time he was here, there was more furniture scattered around the place, and it felt more like a home than a showroom.

_How did I get here?_

He looked around as he relieved himself, the place was still immaculately tidy, and he caught sight of a pair of glasses resting by the side of the sink.

And then someone coughed, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Will? You’re here.” Jo rushed over for a hug, forgetting that he was naked, and Will dodged him, shielding his eyes as Jo blushed.

“Bro, can you at least put some clothes on first?”

“Yeah, clothes would be a good idea.” Jo laughed, grabbing the joggers and t-shirt that were hanging over the shower rail. He opened out the t-shirt to check that it wasn’t one of Nico’s before throwing it on.

It was one from Nico’s sponsors, adorned with sculls and other rock-metal looking icons, but it was way more tasteful than anything he’d ever seen Nico wearing.

“Suits you.” Will snorted in laughter as he leant against the door frame, waiting for Jo to wash his hands.

_You’re here and you’re safe._

“Thanks.” Jo followed Will in the direction of the kitchen, out of habit more than anything else, and he peeked round the bedroom door on the way, checking that Nico was still sleeping.

The sound of the kettle boiling was a nice distraction, and he luxuriated in the feeling of calm.

_Why don’t you remember what happened? Did it even happen?_

“Morning.” A skinny guy about the same height as Will slinked into the kitchen, draping his arm around Will’s shoulder as he kissed the side of his neck.

“Morning.” Will grinned, and Jo raised an eyebrow.

“Photographer guy?”

_Did I ever meet him? Or did Will just tell me about him?_

Will laughed, as his boyfriend did his best to look offended. “How much did you drink last night?”

“I told you we shouldn’t let him drink absinthe.” The voice was clearly Dany’s, his thick Russian accent perfect for sarcasm, and he hopped up effortlessly to sit on the worktop, smiling at Jo’s confusion.

“I don’t feel hungover.”

“Then you’re still drunk.” Dany laughed, making finger guns as Will and his boyfriend sniggered.

“Who wants coffee?” Jo watched as everyone nodded, and he heaped in an alarming amount of coffee into the cafetière, the water making the grounds swirl and dance.

It reminded him of swirling galaxies, and he felt his knees buckle from under him, leaving him slumped against the counter. The room was spinning, and his mind flashed up images of a place so white that he’d thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Not that there was a heaven.

_But we did all die. The whole universe ended with us in it._

“I think you should go sit down,” Will said, beckoning Dany, “And I’ll bring the coffee through.”

“Thanks.”

Dany’s shirt rode up as he helped Jo to his feet, and there was no sign of a gunshot wound, not even a scar.

A terrifying thought wandered through his mind, and he stumbled over his feet as Dany struggled to keep him upright.

_What year is this?_

“Do you want me to take you to bed?” Dany smirked at his joke, and Jo managed a smile through the dizziness.

Nico emerged from the bathroom in just a pair of boxers, and he smiled when he saw Jo. “That’s my guy you’re trying to steal, Kvyat.”

“He’s all yours.” Dany laughed, waiting for Nico to rush over, not letting go until Nico had an arm around Jo’s waist.

Jo managed to make it to the living room without any more dizzy spells, and he slumped down on the sofa, the stale air thick with the smell of alcohol and pizza, reminding him of house warming parties.

The room was barely lit, and Jo felt his eyes relax, but then Nico threw open the curtains, letting the light flood in as Jo squinted, blinking as green spots floated across his vision.

“Sorry.” Nico frowned as he looked at Jo. “Have you seen my glasses?”

“I think they were by the sink in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.” Nico dashed off, and Jo was sure he looked every bit as confused as he felt.

_I really hope everyone just thinks I’m drunk._

Will wandered through, carrying a tray filled with coffee cups, as his boyfriend followed with the milk and sugar. The smell of the coffee roused the shadows from their slumber, and Jo jumped when he saw someone move in the corner of the room.

“Esteban?”

“Ugh, I think I celebrated a little too hard.” Esteban rubbed at his eyes, peeling back the blanket to reveal that he was topless, his skin pale in the bright sunlight.

“Celebrated?”

“Jo’s still drunk.” Will laughed as he began pouring the coffee, and a long arm reached out from behind Esteban, taking the coffee as Jo tried to work out who it was cuddled up next to him. “Although I’m surprised he could forget that the team he’s been driving for all year got fourth in the constructors.”

“Force India?”

Will nodded, handing Jo a large mug filled to the brim with coffee.

“I’m not surprised.” Lance’s voice, and Jo caught himself before he blurted out the words – what are you doing here?

Lance sat up as Dany slinked back into the room, tripping over someone who groaned, before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Dany shook his head, smiling as he took a seat, his long legs stretched out over where Marcus was lying. “The world could end and Marcus would sleep through it.”

Jo laughed out loud, the noise making everyone jump, and Nico came running through to see what was happening.

“Sssh, Alex is asleep in the spare room.” Nico pressed a finger to his lips, before fidgeting with his glasses, and Jo held his hands up as way of an apology.

“It’s okay, I’m awake now.” Alex zombie walked to the sofa, flopping down next to Jo as he yawned and stretched. He took the cup of coffee Will handed him, sniffing it as though he was at a wine tasting.

“You forgot this,” Nico said, wandering over to give Jo a ring.

A plain silver band, and Jo studied it suspiciously as Nico sat down next to him.

“I’m married?” Jo tried to play it off as joking, the others all laughing along with him, and he slid the ring on. It was a perfect fit, leaving no doubt that it was his, rather than an elaborate joke.

“It’s a good job that I love you.” Nico draped his arm around Jo’s shoulder as he cuddled in.

_Did I just imagine the end of the universe?_

“What’s wrong?” Alex turned to face Jo. “You’ve got those wrinkles that mean you’re worrying about something.”

“It’s nothing.” Jo shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee as he felt his mind relax, memories rushing to the surface as the caffeine cleared away the alcoholic haze.

“Come on, you can tell us.” Alex rested his hand on Jo’s knee, and Jo took a deep breath.

“I had the strangest dream, the universe was ending and I tried so hard to stop it, and then you guys all started disappearing, ceasing to exist, so I went to break into CERN but I couldn’t even smash the glass door.”

Will snorted in laughter, before whispering something to his boyfriend, both of them looked so in love. “We shouldn’t have tried to explain multiverse theory to him.”

“Or made him watch _Donnie Darko_.” Dany sat back in his seat with a grin on his face, and Jo didn’t have to fake the confusion that he felt.

“And there were talking rabbits.” Jo sat up with such force that coffee splashed out of his cup, and Nico winced at the brown spots on the cream carpet.

“Let me guess,” Nico said, with a wry smile, “They were called Hazel and Esteban?”

“How did you know?” Jo peered at Nico, and he caught sight of his reflection, pale and tired, with bags under his eyes so big that he’d have to pay for extra baggage at the airport.

“Release the critters!” Nico laughed, and Dany leant over to what Jo had assumed was a table, pulling back the blanket to reveal a large rabbit run.

Dany opened the door, and two familiar faces hopped out, both of them scanning the living room.

Hazel climbed over whoever was sleeping on the floor next to Marcus, and Jo caught a flash of long thick brown waves as they stretched. Roberto sat up, feeling around for his glasses before giving Hazel a few strokes.

“They’re pets?” Jo glanced between Dany and Will, if anyone could remember what happened it should be them. But they showed no sign of thinking this was anything other than a joke.

“No, they’re actually aliens who have come to take over Earth, and this is the first step of their invasion plan.” Dany snorted in laughter as Esteban the rabbit stretched up to see if he had any food, sniffing his hand before hopping over to Jo.

“It all felt so real, the universe was destroyed and I lost you.” Jo felt the lump in his throat growing, and he reached out for Nico.

He smiled when he saw the matching wedding ring, and he felt himself relax, the strange memories of a dying universe fading away.

Hazel hopped up on to his lap, followed by Esteban, their whiskers glinting in the sun, and they vied for his attention as he stroked them, their soft fur calming.

Surrounded by family and friends, he felt safe and loved. It was all that he’d ever dreamed of.

_I don’t care what happened, I’m just glad that everything is back to normal._

“You’re welcome, human.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is finally over, thank you to everyone who has stuck by me through all the twist and turns! And to everyone who has commented, thank you so much for all your lovely words of encouragement <3

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
